By Carla Foote
I
was struck by an article I read recently on a mainstream news platform,
regarding whether or not women should color their hair as they start
graying with age.
First of all, the obvious gender issue - there are no articles about whether or not men should color their hair!
Then
I felt the weariness of the topic - another article about appearance
and women. Would we ever get past the "What we look like" issue to be
able to freely live and work based on our minds, hearts, gifts and
abilities?
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As
a 54-year-old woman who decided about 10 years ago not to start
coloring my hair, I wondered whether or not the article even applied to
me. I am happy with my choice of hair, and I appreciate my friends who
have made different choices. Then I scrolled down to the comments,
something I try to avoid on websites, since people often put on their
crazy side when commenting online. And I felt the fear and resignation
of my sisters ...
This comment summed up the thoughts of so many:
I
color my hair, period. And will continue to do so as long as I work in
middle-management in corporate America. I am 65 years old and don't want
to be laid off because I look like I'm ready to retire anyway. Most
folks think I'm in my early 50's.Yes, yes, age discrimination may be
against the law but in practice it's alive and well.
So
even though the article encouraged women to find their own style and
not be afraid of gray, the comments made it clear that such a decision
was risky in terms of career aspirations for older women.
What about the church?
Surely those of us secure in the fact that we are made in the image of
God and redeemed by Jesus can be more courageous in our appearances.
After all, there are lots of older women (and men) with active roles in
the Bible - Sarah and Elizabeth come to mind. The Bible even commends
older women to teach younger women. Surely churches and Christian
organizations haven't succumbed to the new and young is better than old
and gray push?
Or have we?
When
we quietly push older voices to the sidelines because we are looking
for new, younger voices, are we saying that there isn't room for a
harmonious blend of old, new and in-between voices speaking truth to all
generations?
When
we discard church programs which seem dated in favor of the newest
strategy, are we throwing out discipleship principles that have worked
for years in favor of the chase for relevance?
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Don't
hear me wrong. I am absolutely in favor of the relevance of the gospel
message for upcoming generations, and to shared leadership between
generations. But can the church be a place where all ages are welcome at
the table, and where the appearance of being older doesn't necessarily
mean that we are irrelevant to the Christian community?
Carla
Foote's dark brown hair is now streaked with gray. She loves connecting
with and learning from women of all generations. She is the FullFill blog manager and also writes and edits through www.FinePrintEdit.com.
