I have to admit...we are the fun moms. The ones that are willing to go when we are DOG tired, ride all the rides (except the spinny ones) and we agree to let them drag us around the park and they occasionally thank us by letting us go sit in the shade - or at the waterpark - and just chill while they gallivant around the park with their friends.
This particular trip was no different. Except that it was HOT outside. I usually wear shorts and a tank top to this park, but with our water adventures, I donned my shorts and a swimsuit tank top and headed to the park.
We were walking into the park, when 3 young girls walked past us in tube tops - I didn't even know those were back in style! Anyway, we shrugged it off to being young and went into the park. The attendant at the entrance told me that my VERY MODEST swimsuit tank top was not "family appropriate" at the park.
Imagine my confusion at her statement when I had just seen those very skimpy tube tops, the jeans with virtually no fronts to them, and the shorts where the pockets (among other things) hang out the bottom and leave nothing to the imagination!
I started to make my case, when a still small voice told me to let it go. As I pondered the situation, it became a very teachable moment for me and my children. And I began to ask myself (and later my children) the question, would I rather live under the spirit of the law or the letter of the law?
The spirit of the law of no swimsuits and 'family friendly' attire is to ensure that people are modestly dressed. The letter of the law says that anything made of swimsuit material, regardless of the appropriateness of wearing the exact same style shirt in cotton, because it is made for swimming, is not allowed in the park.
It got me thinking about how God really looks at the "why" we do things, not so much the "what" we did. He cares about the motives. He cares about the spirit of our actions, not just our maintaining the letter of His law.
His commandments are pretty easy. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. Everything else, all those other commands, they are not as important because the spirit of the law is encompassed in the first two. If you Love God and you love others, you will always have the best of intentions and will try to do the right thing. When we become selfish and don't follow the spirit of the law, we get bogged down in the letter of the law and try to find ways to argue with God about what we can or cannot do. We try to see how far we can bend the letter of the law and we get into a "law" suit of the worst kind.
Avoiding this pitfall is really simple. Love God and Serve Others. If you do that, you can avoid the pain, shame, and guilt of living under the letter of the law.
As for my own attire at the park that day - and for any visit in the future - the result is this: I will no longer wear that shirt to the park...not because it is in any way inappropriate, but because I want to teach my children that even though the theme park is not living by the spirit of the law of their dress code, but the letter of law of said dress code, I want to live by the spirit of law that says to honor the laws of the land. So I will honor their letter of the law, because my heart, my motives, and my character want to be seen as blameless in God's eyes so I will choose to live by the spirit of His laws ALWAYS.
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