LIVESTRONG

I hate cancer. I am glad I had a chance to clear that up. Now let me tell you about a growing trend that is bothering me. I am not a fan of cancer accessories. Primarily those wristbands, but any kind of disease support apparel just doesn’t sit well with me. I realize that the proceeds go to fighting the disease, but I just am sick of the fashion statement they have become.

The wristbands all started just a short while ago with the Lance Armstrong “Livestrong” bracelets. They were yellow, and stood for disliking cancer. Then the pink ones came along for those who wanted to make the statement “I hate cancer, especially cancer that attacks breasts.” I have now seen red ones that step beyond cancer into the hatred of aids realm. Finally I saw a friend of mine wearing a purple bracelet. I asked him what it was for and he said it was for disease.

I guess the thing is I am not sure I understand the statement people are trying to make by wearing these accessories. 99.9 percent of the population hates these diseases too, what are you trying to get across? About six years ago the original statement bracelet came out. Unlike the others it was something that not everybody agreed on. Because of this they got sort of a bad wrap. You didn’t see every star wearing them on the red carpet. (Nothing matches better that a 50 thousand dollar dress and a two dollar yellow rubber bracelet) I didn’t even wear one of these bracelets even though I completely believed in the message. They simply asked WWJD?

I am not trying to start a campaign to bring back WWJD bracelets, I am simply curious especially when I read Romans 1:16 - I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Since we can establish that it isn’t cheap bracelets that are out of fashion, can we conclude that the message these old bracelets carry is? Am I ashamed of my message? As much as I dislike aids and cancer, I dislike hell even more. It is said that in my part of the world something like one in five people get cancer at some point in their life. It is not my place to judge, but I bet that a lot more than that don’t know the Lord.

So here is what I ma not going to do. I will not decide to sport the WWJD bracelet. Instead I am going to make a commitment to hate hell more than any other disease in this world. It is the number one killer. I want to put all my efforts into stopping it. It isn’t going to take cheesy message accessories. I am just going to live it. Even if that goes out of style.