I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to wear my Hollister shirt with the collar up. I want to starch all of my collared shirts so that I too can be cool. Likewise, I think I should throw away all of my clothes that are from Wal-Mart or Target and put on the most expensive attire I can find. Not only will I do this, I will also look down upon anyone else who does not. Especially if they can afford it. If they can afford to buy expensive clothes, then by God they should. If they are middle class or poor, then too bad for them, they cannot be cool what-so-ever. I will forget the scriptures in James 2:1-13 and instead choose my friends based upon what clothes their wear, or what part of society they come from.

Now, before I come across as too judgmental, I will make it clear that not everyone who wears their collar up or adorns a Hollister shirt is stuck up or in anyway like the above paragraph. Some people have been blessed with money and are able to afford such clothing. However, a frightening trend that I am seeing on this Christian campus is that of social favoritism. If you do not wear the right kind of clothes, drive the right kind of car, dress in the most fashionable way, or seclude yourself to the right kind of people, then you aren’t worth the time. In my time at DBU I’ve considered going to the student government and asking them to change the name of Dallas Baptist University to Dallas Baptist pseudo-University. Or Dallas Baptist High School. Or “Dallas Baptist half-way between college and high school University.” The reason I assert this is that a lot of the social caste that goes on in high school, that we’re supposedly suppose to grow out of, is still very prevalent here. It’s expected among freshman, they’re still growing out of it. However when I see sophomores, juniors, and sometimes seniors holding onto this caste system, I’m amazed.

What disturbs me more is that we declare leaders based off of how they look. Some of the most well known (or well accepted) leaders on this campus somehow magically fit into this mold of perfection. Do we so quickly forget the mistake of Israel in choosing King Saul? They picked Saul because he looked like a king and look where that got them. Yet our own Lord and Savoir had nothing about Him that would attract people to Him physically, yet He is Lord of Lords. So why is everyone being judged on their clothing at a Christian school when judging on clothing is almost the antithesis of how Christ lived?

I do not think I will ever understand the answer. I fail to see how having the simple name “Hollister” on the front of a shirt will ever make a person better than someone else who has “Wal-Mart” on the back of theirs. What I do know is we are called to embrace people of all walks of life. From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich. We are God’s ambassadors on this earth, called to represent Him and His interest in this world. So I must conclude that no matter what clothing a person has on, that they to must be embraced by a child of God.