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| I was thinking... |
Ok, so I’ve been thinking, and to be quite honest, we need
to be more conscious about what we say. Yes, I said we… that means, you and I
both. But before I get into all of that,
I want to ask you to go on this journey with me. I want to ask you to think about a few things
today. It won’t take very long, I promise.
Think about the times when you have been ridiculed and judged to be
something that you know you are not. I
want you to think about what you felt like during the times when people just
would talk and talk and talk more about you, making assumptions from second
hand information, appearances, or other’s opinions before even asking you what
you thought. Lastly, I want you to think
about when those people literally threw you under the bus-- left you there to fend
for yourself – floating like a ship without a sail…just waiting to see how you
would handle things just before you cracked.
I know that you’ve experienced all of these situations
before. In your past or present, so I’m sure
it won’t take long for you to remember when that happened to you. Didn’t you just want it all to stop? Weren’t
you simply just over it already? Could you imagine that happening to you on a
national platform?
The crazy thing is, believe it or not, it happens on a
national platform every day! Yes, even to you. Whether you like it or not, or
whether you know it or not, social media has now become the place where people
get their “news”. So friend, you
literally can’t avoid being subjected to it.
When that person “tags” you on Facebook in a picture, or you post a
photo on Instagram or where ever, you can trust an believe there is someone is
going to have something to say about how you look, what you have on, or
whatever. If you are totally honest with
yourself, we are all guilty of the doing that same thing.
So, you may ask, where is all of this coming from? Well, I’ll
tell you. I’m sure you couldn’t help but
see it yourself. This actually got me to thinking. There has been a huge storm of conversation
surrounding Megan Good’s royal blue dress at the BET Awards this past Sunday. To
be honest, I actually liked the dress (even without seeing the BET Awards, you
couldn’t help but see it as soon as I got online the other day). I have to also admit, if I had a reason or an
event to go to where I was on a red carpet, I wouldn’t have any issues with
rocking a dress just like that. But I
digress. People weren’t feverishly talking
about the Firemen that selflessly died in the Ariziona wild fire or the staggering
statistics recently released regarding the numbers of children who are sold
into slavery each year (which are absolutely infuriating) ..Nope! The hot topic
that was all in the media after the BET Awards aired was this dress!
Megan Good at 2013 BET Awards
Why is that? There was nothing else to talk about? To be
honest, I rarely heard anything about the award show in general. Were people so chatty only because Megan Good
is married to Devon Franklin (who is a successful Hollywood studio Executive
and Preacher) or did they have another motive in conversation? How was her dress misrepresenting her husband?
Shouldn’t every wife represent her husband well regardless if he’s a preacher
or not? Quite frankly, he really didn’t
seem to mind her dress at all. What’s
the line that is drawn or should there even be one? Is there a box that women who
say they believe in God be put in? Should
we only look a “certain way” at events? Are we not supposed to dress in a way
that makes us feel confident and strong just because we believe in God?
To be honest, I couldn’t imagine being the topic of a conversation
where people all over the nation are throwing stones at me just because they
can, just because. I would be over that
real quick! I would be over people making Facebook and Twitter posts that flood
the internet about me just because it’s something to do….yeah, you could keep
that.
Like I’ve said many times before, God has a way of speaking
directly to a situation if you seek him.
I started thinking about this when something similar happened to me and
I was reflecting on mistakes I’ve made in the past. I started thinking about
how people have made opinions about me when they don’t even know me or have let
alone had a conversation with me for one second. But I was reassured that we can actually find
comfort in knowing “blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is
your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets.”
(Matthew 5 10-12). So when I read that,
I said…Ok, God, I’ll let ‘em talk. I’ll
let them go right ahead.
I say this to you my friend, the facts remain… what you wear
doesn’t validate, confirm, or deny your relationship with your God. Period.
YOUR relationship with God is yours…not what people think it should be
or what they think you should look like, or even what they think you should
become. Secondly, your style is also YOUR
own. Again, it is not what people think
it should be, what they think you should look like, or what you should become. If nothing else, be confident, strong, and
sure in who you are and what you represent. They are going to have something to
say about it regardless right? So, what do you have to lose by being who you authentically
are? Be true to yourself and give them something to talk about. But when they
do talk, insult you, or falsely say all kinds of evil, let them. At the end of the day, you’ll get your reward
and be blessed by it in the end.
xoxo,
Shana
xoxo,
Shana
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