Party Crashers

I was just reading the news of how Tareq and Michaele Salahi went to a White House State Dinner uninvited. How did that happen? There seems to be some unanswered questions about how they got past the people with the guest list. The Salahi's could face some formal charges for party crashing at the The White House. I couldn't help but think about a party (banquet) that is talked about in the Bible. The account is found in Matthew chapter 22, but I want to focus on vs. 11-13.

It seems as though there was a banquet and there was a certain style of dress required for the wedding banquet. This may not be important to some of us here in the West, but in the Eastern culture this was very important. I believe that everyone was instructed to wear a wedding garment, and this man came in without one. Listen to the passage in Matthew 22:11-13 paraphrased in the Message.

^11-13"When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn't properly dressed. He said to him, 'Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!' The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, 'Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn't get back in.'

Listen to what he says:

• "How dare you come in here looking like that!"
• "Get him out of here fast!"
• "Ship him to hell."

Why do I mention this? Because just as it it important to follow protocol at a White House function it is even more important to follow this protocol in the Kingdom of God. The consequences are eternal. Whether the Salahi's are punished for their "party crashing" is unknown, but what is known is that in the Kingdom of God there are no party crashers.