Andree Seu Peterson, writing in the October 9th edition of "World Magazine," writes about a gigantic step she took in her life - she stopped coloring her hair. As she puts it, "So I finally defused the power of the terror by throwing down the gauntlet: 'Come and get me, gray! I'm ready for ya'."
I took a similar step about 10 years ago although it had nothing to do with the color of my hair. It was, in my opinion something more serious - the lack of my hair.
For a time I was recording a five minute weekly radio devotion on a local station. The manager was a good friend of mine. We went back a long way. But when I walked into his office, I was taken aback - he had cut his hair down to the scalp. "Best decision I ever made," was his answer when I asked why he would do such a thing. But the deal was this - he looked pretty good.
I started going to Seminary when I was 41 years old. By then I was working on what all many men do when beginning to lose their hair - the comb over! Except I didn't think it was a comb over. I still saw lots of hair. I must have been looking through rose colored glasses. Something was obscuring my view. I look back at pictures from that time period and realize how desperate I must have looked.
So, one Sunday afternoon I asked my daughter, the hair stylist, to cut it all off. Her response? "I was wondering when you were going to ask. It's way past time, Daddy." After the deed was done I went and took a quick shower. While toweling off a Bible verse came to mind: Jesus tells us in Luke 12:7 that the hairs of our heads are numbered. Was my hair in triple or double digits? Or even worse?
I have to say that the Sunday afternoon haircut was the best decision I ever made (at least with regard to my looks!). Besides, the Lord told Samuel: "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Sam. 16:7)
So, it doesn't matter if you have a full head of hair or a few strands and it doesn't matter if that hair, no matter the amount, is black, red or gray. It's what is in the heart that counts - faith, hope, love, and all the other gifts God gives those who have embraced His Son by faith.
This is good news because if entry into heaven was based on the amount of hair on your head, I'd be sunk. Fortunately, God loves all people. Even the bald ones.
