Pucker up

We’ve been doing an interesting series at our SU lunchtime group this term, looking at Musical Artists, their songs and how we think God would respond to them. We started off with My Chemical Romance, Keane, Girls Aloud and this week we did Amy Winehouse.

Boy did the talk this week hit home, as we looked at the lyrics of some of Amy’s songs. As C. gave her talk, about her take on what seemed to come through in Amy’s songs as an expression of what was on her heart, one of the girls said quietly to her friends: “She’s just scared of being alone” (talking about Amy not our SU leader)

It’s the first opportunity I had to speak about ‘real’ issues with these girls as I picked up on that one comment. We get along great as they are really into music (like me!!) and their favourite places to shop were the places I loved to shop when I was their age. Ok. They are still my favourtie places to shop, but I don’t think I can get away with wearing the clothes I used to wear now I’m no longer a student.

Somehow, we got on the subject of make up. They observed that people who make their lives miserable at school seem to act more harshly when they have a full face of make up, but on the days they don’t seem to be nicer.

We concluded that we feel more confident when we have our make up on. We wear make up as a mask to give the message that we feel secure and have it ‘together’. I made my own confession that even now, on the days when I feel rubbish but don’t want people to know about it I make sure I have plenty of make up on.

When I returned home, I got to remembering this passage from Isaiah 3:16-26

There is certainly a danger when we have all our confidence in what we wear, how we dress and look. This passage is not saying that having clothes, jewellery or make up and wearing it is wrong. But it’s a warning against when we get so caught up in it we ignore real needs of the poor because we’re so caught up in our looks.

Relevant for today’s western society?

I think so. And I have to say that’s a challenge to me.