Flaming Orange Seatshirts, Dog Chains, and "Soul Sisters" iron ons...or...What Would Oprah Do?

Many years ago (during my pre-teen life) I had a friend who was very influential.  I will call him "Dirk" because it sounds cool, and because it is not his real name (I am doing that names are changed to protect the innocent thing).  Dirk was the leader of our recess group (which carried over into social activities like attendance at football games,etc.) because he was smart, athletic, and really funny.  We all wanted to be a part of the fellowship that he led because of these qualities, and sometimes we were willing to compromise certain things like rationality and common sense in order to be a member of Dirk's inner circle.

 

There came a day when Dirk had an extraordinary idea.  He wanted to start a gang.  Keep in mind that we were early seventies elementary students and realize that the word "gang" in those days (at least for us) stood for something harmless.  And stupid. 

 

There was a group of four of us (counting Dirk) that comprised the gang.  We were his "band of brothers" and what Dirk suggested to us was based on a recent visit to  a local five-and-dime store.  He had seen "the coolest sweatshirts" on sale that were bright (even blinding) orange.  He thought that we should all have one.  He also spotted a great deal on dog chains that could be attached to a belt loop and which Dirk believed would accessorize our bold colors with strength.  Finally, and best of all, there were some iron-on patches that were in a clearance bin for fifty cents each.  It was those patches that would give us our name and our identity.  And, he informed us, the only patch for which at least four were available read, "Soul Sisters."

 

I don't want to insult anyone or anything now, and at that time such a feeling was the last thing on our mind.  Dirk thought that Soul Sisters was a cool name.  He thought that the patch was cool.  He thought that the color of the sweatshirt was cool.  He thought that the dog chain would look cool as a part of the "uniform," and Dirk also thought that it would be cool if all of us bought those things and wore them (with the Soul Sisters iron-in boldly plastered on our chests) when we hung out together in places that were not school.

 

So, because Dirk was the "prophet of cool" to our small group, we all went shopping.

 

Over the course of life I have discovered that other people have the same kind of influence on people that Dirk had.  They might not have gangs, but they do have television and radio shows.  They tell us what to think, what to eat, and what not to wear.  Perhaps the most obvious personality in this encouragement by cool people came in a segment called "Oprah's Book Club."  This was a television recommendation by a really nice lady that hosted a ridiculously adored talk show that told us what books we should fork over our hard earned money to buy and...read.  And because her thoughts on what was good meant so much to people, many otherwise unknown literally works became huge best-sellers.

 

While I now know that I should not listen have listened to everything that Dirk said, I also know that I should not be so influenced by the encouragements of the world.  When I think of my parents, I know that they had to wonder about my decision to follow Dirk's lead.  While they did not make me refuse to purchase the products that would "make me cool," they certainly had other ideas as to what advice I should listen to.  They wished I would know that their words were better advice.

 

The main concept here is that we listen to things (like orange sweatshirts) that are bad advice.  God, however, simply tells us to listen to him.  "I am smarter than Dirk, book lists, your wardrobe, etc.  Just listen to me.

God has a warning in the Psalms that we shouldn't listen to the counsel of the ungodly.  About the definition of "ungodly," I would suggest that it simply means people who don't think that God exists...and if they do...who don't think that God should have any say about how we behave in the world that He created.

The only thing I am saying is that God is wisdom.  He understands what is smart and not so smart about His creation.  And I think that even though He rarely forces Himself on us, He does wish that we would sometimes look at Him and say, "What should I do?"

I am pretty sure that He might discourage bright orange sweatshirts, dog chains, and clearance rack iron-on patches.  While Dirk was a really great friend, I am pretty sure that His wisdom was rarely based upon the recommendations of God.  And as I look back from my current vantage point, I can find at least one glaring episode to use as proof.

Sorry Dirk.