Hair Blog: Male Perspective

My friend Kelly Reed, who is a great guy in spite of the fact that he went to the University of Texas, sent me the following. I thought it was so insightful that it needed to be posted.

Kiki, in order to re-engage your male readers after their loss with the hair care comments, I thought I would take a shot along similar lines—hair care, just facial hair. It’s tongue in cheek silliness but doesn’t have quite your humor or originality. Thought I’d let you see it before ruining your excellent parable.

1. Every morning I wake up and there it is. Stubble. It’s bristly and coarse and doesn’t look very good. It is like my old nature that keeps growing up in my life despite my best efforts. Left to itself and not dealt with, it will cover over and mask the clean and smooth face that is most presentable in public.

2. I don’t have the means in and of myself to get rid of this problem. No sharp claws, no teeth or tongue that can reach or remove it. I need something outside myself.

3. Christ comes along and cleans me up—a close shave that removes the stubble of sin. In order to accomplish it, He has to use something to reveal or lift the sin as high as possible for easier removal. The Bible is like the shaving cream that bubbles under the sin and lifts it up, then makes it easier to slice it off.

4. Sin must be dealt with in serious terms, it cannot be toyed with otherwise it will still be there causing it’s trouble. Nobody shaves with a spoon—they use a sharp razor that cuts off the hair of sin as close to the fresh skin (the new man) as possible.

5. It is not always a pleasant process—most guys don’t like shaving every day (I don’t) but I cannot ignore the problem or sin will grow and take over. We must confess our sin and see that it is dealt with—shaved off. However, it comes at a cost. Sometimes, the process cuts too deep and leaves a scar—but every day, layers of skin are taken off with the process—leaving new skin to rise to the surface, but that will have to deal with the problem tomorrow morning.

6. I could go natural, but my life would look very differently if I don’t let the Written Word, and the Living Word do it’s work every day. My wife and family would be alienated from me if I let sin take over.

7. Thankfully, the Word is also a mirror (James 1:23) is also a mirror that allows me to see myself for who I really am—and see every morning the presence of sin in my life. Hmmm, is that a 5:00 shadow I see???