Charm is Deceptive...

As I told you all in my last blog, I'm taking an online class. There are, of course, several other current and former teachers taking the same class. I don't think I'm all that popular in my class. See, we have a discussion board where not only is it recommended, but required that we participate. A large chunk of our grade is based on the information we post on the board and the "thoughtful" responses we give to other people who post. I don't get a lot of responses to my posts. It's not a huge deal, but usually just the teacher responds. I try to make myself feel better by saying that maybe my deep inflections are just over their heads, but more likely, they are under their feet. I mean, these women know something about education and teaching!

Anyway, I remember when I was pretty popular. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, because a lot of it was because I was so involved in school growing up. If there was an activity, I wanted to be involved. I was in chorus and drama, played basketball and volleyball, was a cheerleader, was on yearbook staff. My junior year I was president of my class and was voted homecoming queen my senior year. I went to a small school, so it was easy to know everybody, and I tried to be friends with everyone. I befriended the popular kids and the not-so-popular kids, the jocks and the nerds. I guess I would have made a good politician.

Back then, I probably thought that popularity really mattered. I see the kinds of things that happen among young people today - like bullying and peer pressure - and I want to scream to those kids that it doesn't matter how popular you are. Ten years from now, nobody will care if you were given a superlative in the yearbook or you won prom queen. What matters is keeping your standards and morals in the face of pressure and treating people the way you want to be treated. What matters is being a positive example, studying hard, and serving others. If all you care about is being popular, being liked, or putting others down to make yourself feel better, all you'll have when you get older are regrets and burned bridges. If you do the right thing, regardless of what anybody else thinks, you'll never have to live with those regrets.

I think that's a good lesson for us adults, too. Did all the popularity, athleticism, and priming for position in school really do us any good in the long run? Not really. So why does position or popularity matter now? Why are we so hesitant to stand up for what's right now? Young people haven't learned these things yet, but we have. So what's our excuse?

For the record, it's okay that I'm not the most popular person in my class. That's not my reason for being in it. But I don't want to compromise what I know to be true in any setting just for acceptance. I don't ever want fear of rejection or unpopularity to stop me from doing what's right, standing for what I believe in, and telling everyone I know about a Savior Who loves us...and Who also never cared about being popular.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Proverbs 31:30