Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

A song popped up into my memories recently that I had encountered somewhere along my musical wanderings. One line in particular piqued my curiosity: “Then in manner of fashion I’d frown.” The song is titled,
“Alice Blue Gown“
In my sweet little Alice blue gown,
When I first wander'd down into town
I was both proud and shy,
As i felt ev'ry eye,
But in ev'ry shop window I'd primp, passing by
Then in a manner of fashion I'd frown
And the world seemed to smile all around,
Till it wilted I wore it,
I'll always adore it,
My sweet little Alice blue gown."

When, I wondered, is it fashionable to frown? My searches brought me only definitions of ‘fashion’ and ‘frown.’ Fashion, of course, being a popular trend, especially in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behavior. Frowning is a facial expression or look characterized by such a furrowing of one's brows: a frown of disapproval.
We are ardently counseled to turn those frowns upside down; let a smile be your umbrella. Smilers never lose, and frowners never win. If we are not ‘fashionable’, what then? Who wishes to be unfashionable, dated, unstylish, untrendy, unpopular, square, or uncool? But no clues could I find that explained that line in the song.
Further research brought no answer. Perhaps the authors of the musical, “Irene” - words by Joseph McCarthy, music by Harry Tierney - needed a good rhyme. Anyway, I found that Alice blue is a pale tint of azure that was favored by Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and which sparked a fashion sensation in the United States. Edith Day was an American actress best known for her roles in musicals, and she became a major star playing the title role in the 1919 Broadway musical “Irene.” It is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on Irene O'Dare, a humble but ambitious, hardworking Irish girl, who is introduced to Long Island's high society. (1)
The old “rags to riches” theme; the lowly moving up in society. Should we counsel our children to emulate, to join the popular crowd? Author Alexandra Robbins thinks not! Many kids she talked to felt that their lowly social status meant they weren't worth much. The result was Robbins' new book, "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth:” (2)
Many of the differences that lead people to exclude the “Geek” students in school are the same characteristics or skills that other people will value, admire or respect about those students in adulthood and outside of the school atmosphere. Is there something adults can do to discourage the “push for popularity” mindset?
First of all, parents should never emphasize popularity. They should never push their child to make more friends if the child is happy with his or her current social life. Robbins notes, “The in-crowd at most schools often falls into the "perceived popular" category. It turns out that students in this group are more likely to engage in risky behavior. They are often less likely to do well in school. They are more likely to conform, because they're more likely to feel pressure from their group to conform.”
Best to follow Paul’s advice: “Do not be conformed to this world” - the world of fashion, popularity, conformity and risky behavior.

(1)“Irene.”from a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney. cf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_(musical)
Listen to a recording of Edith Day singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhmso6QmTiQ
(2) Alexandra Robbins: "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School" (Hyperion, 2011)
http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/stories/the-geeks-shall-inherit-the-earth

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Planned Obsolescence
* Scripture: John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30, NIV

One of the side effects of walking the earth for three score years and ten (or longer) is a growing awareness of how temporary many earthly things seem to be.
Anyone who has attempted to obtain repair parts, or hauled some beloved and faithful gadget in for repair, is faced with a tradition called “planned obsolescence.” Treasure the company that supports maintenance and stocks parts for more than five or six years!
Do you ladies cheerfully welcome every change in fashion? Comfort gone with the cut of the newest styles? I imagine that I am not alone among the fellows that stand perplexed in front of racks of clothing that attempt to leapfrog me into the fashion future.
Brand names and particular models of items have a way of disappearing into the past, whether they want to or not. The automobile scene of the 21st Century is an entirely different world from that in the middle of the 20th. Let’s see: there was the Essex, Kaiser, Frasure, Studebaker, Crosley, Packard, DeSoto . . . all made in The USA!
Go to an antique tractor show, and marvel at the variety: Oliver, Allis Chalmers, Cockshutt, Avery - and a few names that still have corporate identity, such as the John Deere and Case lines. Others are still around but in a new corporate setting. They either merged with , or were bought out by another company. Who would have thought that “International Harvester” would be a model name under the Case/IH logo.
Many products simply become obsolete through new advances in technology and social change (progress?). The oft cited producers of buggy whips and washboards linger on in limited numbers, since groups like the Amish still use them, but, by and large, the producers of such objects either turned to some new, more salable product, or ceased to exist entirely.
Still, few are the companies that begin with the goal of making themselves obsolete on purpose. Most start with high hopes, and excitement in the pursuit of their own enterprise. Many succeed, but the number of those who fade like a flower in the hot desert sun are in the majority.
It just seems to be human nature to want to continue to move up in life, to ‘upper-ups’, if possible. Anyone in a position of visibility, power, or popularity usually clings to every visage of adherents they can muster. But consider John the Baptizer: He had a successful ministry. People from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. (Mark 1:5)
Curiosity and -Yes,! controversy swirled about him. He testified that he, John, was not The One. He was the Forerunner, the one pointing to the Messiah. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
December 11, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Beards
* Scripture: The Psalmist wrote, “Behold , how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron“ Psalms 133:1-2a

Sometimes an attempt to show kindness can go awry, even for kings. When king Nahash of Ammon died, king David sent servants to comfort his son, Hanun, remembering the kindness Nahash had shown David. Instead, the princes of Ammon suggested to king Hanun that David had actually sent his servants to search out the city, to spy it out, and overthrow it. “Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.” (2 Samuel 10:1-4)
No “precious oil” of pleasantness in this encounter! The servants were greatly embarrassed by this indignity - more so by the cutting of the beard than by the cutting of the garment.
While other nations have had periods where beards were the approved fashion, alternating with periods of the clean-shaven look, beards have always had special significance for Israel and the Jewish people.
Among the laws and practices given in Leviticus, 19:27 states, “You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.” Lev. 21:5 adds a prohibition against making a bald place on the head. These were forms of ‘defilement’ often practiced in idol worship.
Deuteronomy 14:1 reminds the Israelites that, “You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves, nor shave the front part of your head for the dead.” Many peoples, even today, cut themselves to produce scar tissue as a fashion statement. Tattoos were also prohibited.
We tend to associate Samson with long hair, and rightfully so. Judges 16:13 specifically mentions shaving; Samson’s beard would be as uncut as the hair on top of his head.
Isaiah prophesied against Moab, the calamities including, “On all of their heads will be baldness, and every beard cut off.” (Isa. 15:2b) Jeremiah echoes this prophesy in 48:37: “For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped.”
The Egyptians, on the other hand, were noted to be clean shaven. When Joseph was brought out of the dungeon to go before Pharaoh, he shaved, lest he offend the ruler. (Genesis 41:14)
The shaven head was also a sign of leprosy. “he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. (Lev. 14:9)
We, living in a time when shaving of not only beards, but also of heads, legs and armpits is commonplace, tend to overlook the significance of facial hair in biblical societies.
November 13, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Oneness
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for for whom we live,; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1 Corinthians 8:6, NKJV

I’ve got a great idea! Instead of having to make so many different sizes of clothing, let’s make everything the same size. Garment factories wouldn’t have to worry about cutting so many pattern sizes. It would simplify stocking the clothing departments. Think of the hassle it would save when shopping; no more searching through the racks and stacks for that elusive measurement.
If something is too big, just fold it over, roll it up, wrap it around. Style it with a unique belt. Being in fashion would never have been so easy! Just think of the fairness of uni-size, one fits all. Equality at last. It would solve the age-old problem of jealousy and covetness.
What’s that you say? You don’t like my idea? Why, doesn’t it say in Acts that the early church had all things in common? Oh! You mean that doesn’t apply to clothing sizes?
Hmmm. . . Well, I suppose you are right. I had in mind something like the mumu. Just to be sure I had the correct spelling, I did a search on the internet, and - sure ‘nuff - there were pages of listings, but I stopped reading when I found a soul who was rejoicing that she had lost weight so that “I can buy clothes instead of Mumu's. ...”
Clothing that fits our individual size is more than just vanity, I suppose. After all, we were created with individual identities, right down to the whorls of our fingerprints. Still, there are times when it is desirable, even necessary, to yield some of our individuality in the name of common good. We may elect to share in a common purpose, even to the extent of wearing garments that are alike, of one style and color, called a . . . uni - form. One, uni, as in UNITY! Sports teams, bands, chain stores and restaurants, even schools, adopt uniforms to reflect the commonality of that community. The wearers of a uniform have a sense of belonging, of being part of something bigger than themselves. The viewers see the wearer of a uniform as a representative, an identifiable part of the whole. Oneness.
If many can join in oneness in temporal (earthly) things, how much more desirable to be one in the Spirit, for God is one (see Mk. 12:29; Dt. 6:4.) Not in clothing, for earthly things will pass away, but one in God.
The actual passage that I referred to earlier in Acts states that all the believers were “one in heart and mind.” (Acts 4:32) Paul also wrote to the Romans (and to us, as well) “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5, NKJV)
September 25, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do no worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Mt. 6:25, NRS.

Fashion is fickle! The hot mode of dress and hair style today is disgraceful and grossly offensive tomorrow. At least to some people. One only needs to look at pictures representative of even the last fifty years to see proof that fashion is indeed marked by a lack of constancy, or stability, and given to erratic changeableness - fickle!
Religion is fickle! At least as some people practice it, those who seem to put it on as a fashion. Their profession of beliefs is marked by a lack of constancy, or stability, and given to erratic changeableness - fickle!
Such trends in fashion or religion are not unique to our own times, since a search through the Bible will provide many examples of fickleness in following the True God.
King Solomon was no doubt a fashionable man, probably a trend setter in the courts. Unfortunately, he became inconstant, fickle, and turned his heart away from The Lord, following the religious fashion of his wives. Deities such as Moloch are designated “abominable” and “detestable” in various translations of 1 Kings 11:7. Solomon was held accountable for his folly.
Psalms 1:4 compares the godly to fruitful trees planted by streams of nourishing water. The ungodly are like chaff, blown by the wind, doomed to destruction because they have no roots, no source of nourishment. The truly righteous delight in the law of the Lord, and are rewarded for their steadfastness.
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,” we are advised by Proverbs 22:1, “and loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees for their fashionable interpretation of righteousness, ( Mt. 5:20) and warned against “acts of righteousness” just to be seen by men. (Mt. 6:1-4) “Hypocrites,” Jesus called them; persons who put on a false appearance of virtue or religion. Deceivers, pretenders, play-actors. While popular, fashionable shows of religiosity will not meet the requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke also records Jesus’ criticism of those who “like to walk around in long robes” and seek honor, favor, and respect for their status. Their long prayers are offset by their true beliefs; they devour widow’s houses. (Luke 20:45-47)
Paul warned the Colossians against false teachers and their human commands and teachings promoting self-imposed piety and humility. (Col. 2:23)
Fashion, you say? Read James’ observations on the subject, and the perils of showing special attention to the fashionable. (James 2:1-4)
The Living Bible translation of James 4:5 reads, “If your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot be a friend of God.”
June 8, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “You hypocrites! You now how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Luke 12:56 NRS.
Worldly wise and street smart - we’ve probably all known such people. They dress in the latest fashion, listen to the newest musical releases, know all about the current releases in movies or TV, and can tell you what is IN and what is OUT. Their world mainly consists of things, or as is often termed, STUFF.
They draw a circle to include friend who likewise share their tastes in fashion and entertainment; those not so favored are on the OUTSIDE of their circle.
Unfortunately, people who have chosen to place their emphasis on matters of the mind and spirit, rather than externals, fall on the outside of their circles. That wouldn’t be so bad except that the Insiders love to make sure that the Outsiders know who they are, and where they are! They tease, they cajole, they Label. Geek! Nobody! Dummy! Weird-o!
Such behavior can, and often does, occur within what are purported to be “religious” groups. Jesus faced such a situation with the Pharisees and Sadducees. In Matthew 23:5 Jesus comments, “Everything they do is done for men to see: they make their phylacteries (Note: boxes worn on their arms and foreheads containing scriptures) wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the market places and to have men call them “Rabbi.” “Blind guides,” He calls them, in verse 16. Take time to read chapter 23 in its entirety. It is a good guide in behavior to avoid. Test yourself - see if anything fits!
In Mark, chapter 7:1:23, Jesus again speaks about externals. vs. 20; “It is what comes out of a person that defiles.”
Read what Jesus says about true greatness, as in Luke 9:47.
To the people who knew of worldly things, He said, “You hypocrites!” Luke 12:54-56.
We are so pressured by worldly things to conform to the world. Since the worldly people are not going to mention anything that takes away from their prestige and glory, we have to look to another source to find what is truly worthwhile. That source is Jesus. His Word is the Bible. Start by reading Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7.
March 25, 2001

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.” Mark 8:36, NKJV

Baseball catcher Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Well, I suppose one could just sit there, in a state of stultification, or turn around and go back. Chances are, though, one fork or the other will be taken. Choices, decisions, alternatives. If this, then - What? What will the answer be?
John Greenleaf Whittier brought two people to such a fork in the road in his poem, “Maud Muller.” Maud was a farm girl, “Of simple beauty and rustic health,”raking hay in the meadow on a summer’s day, when a Judge stopped his horse to rest in the shade of a tree, and asked the maid for a drink of water. While he tarried, they:
“talked of the haying, and wondered whether
The cloud in the west would bring foul weather.”

When he at last rode away, Maud’s thoughts wandered to what it would be like that she the Judge’s bride might be.

“He would dress me up in silks so fine. . . ”

The Judge looked back at Maud and considered her pastoral world - the

“low of cattle and song of birds,
And health and quiet and loving words.
But he thought of his sisters, proud and cold,
And his mother, vain of her rank and gold.
So, closing his heart, the Judge rode on,
And Maud was left in the field alone.“

The years pass, and their roads diverge:

“He wedded a wife of richest dower,
Who lived for fashion, as he for power . . . .”

“She wedded a man unlearned and poor,
And many children played round her door.”

Often over the years each thought back to that summer day:

“In the shade of the apple-tree again
She saw a rider draw his rein;
And, gazing down with timid grace,
She felt his pleased eyes read her face.”

while he wished to be

“Free as when I rode that day,
Where the barefoot maiden raked her hay.”

Oh! For the fork in the road not taken.
Choices, decisions, alternatives.

“Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!
God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.”

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: `It might have been!`”

As Jesus observed, many take the fork that promises the “riches” of the the world, only to find that it leads to a soul lost for eternity. Too late, too late, one can then only look back and sigh, “It might have been.”
May 8, 2005