Soldiers Have Two Uniforms!

This is a topic that I've been pondering, on and off, almost as long as I've been a soldier in the Salvation Army. It holds a deep symbolism for me, one that resonates with the original purpose of the SA's 'military style' uniform.

You see, military soldiers tend to have two basic uniforms. They have their dress uniform, which is worn at parades, graduations, other formal events. It's not famed for its comfort or wearability - in fact it can sometimes be anything but. It's designed for show, not for combat, and it's required to be clean, neat and ironed at all times.

Then they have their 'combat' uniform. This is what they wear when they're doing the REAL soldier stuff - under fire, crawling through the mud, trying to win a war. They don't have to worry about keeping it clean and neat and unwrinkled - it's not designed to look pretty. If it keeps them comfortable and warm (or cool), it's doing its job.

Our salvation experience can become like a dress uniform. It's always neat and ironed, and never allowed to come into contact with filth. 'Holiness', in dress-uniform salvation, is an avoidance of all that is defiled and contaminating. This has been understood for millenia, since long before Jesus' day.

Jesus' holiness was more like combat fatigues, though. Reading the gospels, he doesn't come across as the tidiest person, does he? Sometimes he seems positively disorganised. He deliberately dived into the muck and depravity of life outside the religion. And he had many a strong word for the 'dress uniform' holy people, the Pharisees.

Is my christian experience like a dress uniform - sparkly white and clean, crisply ironed, not a bit awry? Or is it more like a combat uniform - worn, faded and dirty from time on my knees in the trenches?

I have to admit, I love the spiritual symbolism of combat fatigues. One of these days I'm going to find a cheap pair of army fatigue pants, sew SA shields on them and a fatigue-green jacket of mine, and wear them out on the streets. May I always be battle-ready!