Mullet
Trends come and go, and some come back again! Take for example the mullet. A mullet is a haircut that is short on the front, top, and sides, but long in the back.
When I was a teenager in the 80’s, mullets were very cool, so I grew one. Dressed in my finest Top Man clothes and listening to Duran Duran and Bananarama on my portable cassette player, I looked like all the other ‘trendy’ young men.
Who would have thought that mullet haircuts would make a comeback in 2025! The desire to be like others, to blend in or do what everyone else is doing can be very powerful.
This was true for Israel in the Bible. There are many Old Testament stories where the nation did not want to be God’s people. On one occasion, a man called Ezekiel was sent by God with the message to call Israel back to Himself, but the people replied…
“We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.”
This was sad and not what God intended. His desire was for Israel to stand out, to be a beacon of light and hope, a different kind of community with God at the centre.
Christians today are called to live as God’s people, to be all those things that Israel were to be. Unlike those Old Testament times, there is the example of Jesus to follow.
He was an outstanding leader in both word and deed, who demonstrated how God’s ways were very different to that of the world.
His earliest followers were dramatically impacted and transformed by this. They did not conform to trends in the ancient world. Because of that, God’s message spread, the church grew, and His people shaped and transformed many areas in society for good.
Today there are millions of Christians who live God’s ways, and there are signs of more people encountering Him and being changed.
How are you going to live? Are you going to be like those around you, or live for God?
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader