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Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:12
Reflect
My daughter is a hairdresser. In fact, cutting, styling and coloring hair is her passion. I should have seen it coming, because when she was in middle school a classmate convinced her that coloring her hair red with Hawaiian Punch was a good idea because the color wouldn’t last long. We agreed to let make the change — and the classmate was wrong. Lizzi’s hair stayed red for months. Since then, I can’t count how many times her hair color has changed. I’ll see her again in a couple of months, and I’ll know what color her hair is when I see her.
Hair color is so commonplace that we usually don’t even think about whether someone is or isn’t coloring their hair. Men and women alike use hair coloring products, and entire rows in grocery and drug stores are devoted to a myriad of brands and shades. But it wasn’t always that way.
In 1956, Shirley Polykoff was a junior copywriter for Foote, Cone and Belding, an advertising agency that was hired by Clairol to handle the campaign for its one-step home hair color. At the time, hair color was considered to be taboo, at least among “genteel” or “cultured” women. But Polykoff came up with a couple of memorable lines: “Does she or doesn’t she,” and “Only her hairdresser knows for sure.” These two phrases not only launched Clairol and the hair color industry, they eventually got Polykoff inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. The hair color industry is now valued at more than $21 billion globally.
Advertising is a huge influence on our daily lives. Think about all of the products you’ve purchased that you never would have had you not seen it on TV or online first. (And I’m sure that a number of those products gave you some “buyer’s remorse” later.) Ads are so powerful that they can motivate us even years after they were first aired. I was once listening to a replay of a radio broadcast from the 1970s, and it included a spot for a beverage. The commercial was so enticing (and it was hot outside) that I went out and bought the drink later that day. (And yes, I also had buyer’s remorse.)
We have to be careful who “has our ear.” Friends might be well-meaning, but they can sometimes steer us in the wrong direction. (Just ask my daughter how she feels about Hawaiian Punch as a hair coloring option.) And advertisers really don’t care about us at all as long as we’re paying attention to their commercials and buying their products. They’re not really bothered if they waste your time and money.
The only person we can consistently trust to point us in the right direction is the Lord, and particularly the Bible. His words bring life, and they never change. When the messaging we get from the world leaves us confused, we have a refuge in the Lord through scripture, worship and prayer. In those times, we can rest assured that we can receive peace, assurance and wisdom.
(And the Lord will probably never ask you to use a powdered drink to dye your hair.)
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
