I was waiting for an elevator in a large hotel in Denver when I saw the T-shirt! I couldn't believe my eyes. I would never have expected to see such a brazen T-shirt worn on the street, much less by someone attending a Christian conference. But there it was, declaring its offensive slogan to anyone with the eyes to see. I could feel the blush spreading over my face as the uninvited message sought to penetrate my mind.

But the greatest shock was not really the shirt, but the one who was wearing the shirt. This obnoxious T-shirt was worn by a little fellow who was only about twelve years old. And to make matters worse, pinned onto the shirt was a name badge linking him to the Christian conference that was being held at the hotel.

We stood in silence together, the boy and me, watching the progress of the elevator displayed above the door. I carefully averted my eyes from the risqué T-shirt and the boy who was wearing it, but my thoughts were not so easily distracted. A multitude of questions raced through my mind. Did his mother know he was wearing the shirt? What was my role in this situation? Did I have a responsibility to speak the truth in love? Was I my brother's keeper?

Turning to the boy, I looked him directly in the eye (God forbid that I should look down at the T-shirt) and said, "You really need to go back to your room and change that shirt." I was involved in spiritual warfare with a twelve year old. There was no response, so I repeated my statement a second time.

He continued to ignore me and the admonition that I had delivered. The empty elevator arrived at our floor and we entered it together. The two of us were obviously going to be the only passengers on the trip down. I pushed the button for the lobby and we faced each other in stony silence as the elevator slowly descended.

Taking a deep breath, I confronted him for the third time. "I am grieved by that shirt and so is the Holy Spirit. You cannot wear it in this hotel or to the youth group meeting."

Slowly he reached down and moved his name badge from the left side of the shirt to the middle where he pinned it directly over the offensive word in the slogan. I had won, but it was a shallow victory. The shirt was still being worn, but the boy had taken advantage of a "cover-up tactic" to appease me.

I suspected that he would leave the gutter word covered by the badge during the youth meeting, but he wasn't about to change the shirt. He had covered up the offense, but he wasn't about to take it off and make a permanent change. A childish attitude, but how often we too can carry this same attitude into our Christian walk.

Are there some things in your life that you attempt to cover up rather than change? You know that they're wrong, but you refuse to remove them. You may even be aware that some of your attitudes and habits are offensive to others. Do you opt for the "great cover-up" rather than for a complete change? Do you attempt to "cover-up" your bad habits when you are with Christians and then remove the "badge" when you're back in your own home?

Beware of spiritual cover-ups in your life. God's desire is for you to be clothed in righteousness, but you are the one who has to make the decision to take off the old and put on the new. What kind of T-shirt are you wearing today?