The Man in Overalls

There is a man I know that wears overalls everywhere he goes. I have never seen him in regular pants, just overalls. He goes to church, is even in the choir, and still wears his blue jean overalls with a black suit jacket over top. I don’t know if he can’t afford dress pants or if he just chooses to wear clean overalls but I wanted to tell you about this man today.

You see, this man has a heart of gold. He is a great friend. He will be there for you when you need him. He is the kind of person that will take you out to lunch and not tell anyone because he doesn’t need to brag on himself. His prayers are genuine and his spoken devotions are deep. He might be a simple man but his love for God and others is complex.

We can all learn a lot from the simple man in the overalls. We can all learn that we should love each other and help a neighbor out when they need a boost. By helping others, we help ourselves. We might be the next one that is down and out and needing a helping hand. 

I remember when we first moved to Alabama, I struggled with being here. Even for a country girl, they were too “backwoods” for me. I was not comfortable with their relaxed church services. I loved their bluegrass sounding music, love for God, country, and neighbor but I was not ready for the lack of strict rules.

It is sad to say but too many Independent Baptist churches, especially in the northern states, have became too legalistic. The members focus too much on the outward appearance, the ministries they can have, and even how well their choir can sing. Even though I am not legalistic, having been in such strict churches have caused me to judge my fellow believers based on things like getting to church on time, believing churches should have a door knocking ministry (which I still believe they should but more focus should be on people daily talking about Jesus with whoever they meet), and sadly even believing Godly men wore dressy pants to church.

You see, the man in the overalls, along with all the people at my current church, are teaching me that Christianity is not about following rules to follow God. It is about living out what Jesus did. It is about presenting ourselves a living sacrifice so Jesus can work through us. I am learning I still have a lot of spiritual growing up to do. I hope I can continue to learn the love of Jesus from those currently in my life, especially from the man who only wears overalls.

Who in your life as been an amazing Godly example? I’d love to hear about them. Don’t forget to follow my blog to keep up with my journey.