Loyalties

My friend Dennis and his third and last child Becca had to discuss her options for college related to Dennis' wardrobe. Would Becca's dad wear Tennessee orange? No, he had to admit he couldn't do that.

You see Dennis and I both grew up in the Bluegrass state, and most of the commonwealth bleeds blue, with the exception of that small corner that should just push itself over the Ohio River into Indiana.

Growing up blue makes it hard to even think about wearing Tennessee orange, Duke's version of blue, and never Cardinal red.

My daughters both attended Wheaton, a division 3 school, not a competitor in the big dance, so I wear their alma mater shirts with pride. My first son Luke decided to make wearing Kentucky blue a full-time occupation, so that was easy. The best part of visiting UK on a college visit was both of us stocking up on new shirts while in Lexington. Neither of Dennis' older daughter's attended a division 1 school, so he has worn their college spirit wear willingly as well.

Now my last child Wesley is considering Illinois, Purdue, Georgia Tech, IIT and Johns Hopkins. JHU and IIT are division 3 schools, so no conflict there. To make it worse, the color of Illinois is orange, and Ga Tech is yellow, two colors that do not exist in my wardrobe, and for good reason, not in my family of colors at all.

So, how do we choose a college? Should Dennis and I get to pick for our offspring based on the implications for spirit wear for the next four years and beyond?

Some of you are thinking this is the silliest thing you've ever heard, that's the reaction I got from one friend. And at one level, you are absolutely right. I truly want Wesley to go to the best possible college he can, and the one he most prefers, regardless of any preferences I have about the clothing commitment controversy.

The problem is, I'm Irish. Sounds silly. But it did help me to learn about my heritage that fierce loyalty is a common trait. I would feel a sense of divided loyalties and almost betrayal not wearing Kentucky blue, but at least Wesley isn't considering Tennessee or Louisville.

In this case, I must bend my loyalties for colleges to a wider and deeper arc of loyalty to my son, and support what he cares about.

Yet I am glad for the part of my personality that makes me so fiercely loyal. Though sometimes misguided, that same faithful doggedness keeps me engaged with my family, and hopefully with my God.

In a sense every day I am supposed to don the spirit of Christ. That should be my clothing, and what everyone sees when they look at me. I should be many times more adamant in my loyalty to that attire than any other garment. When I am challenged to adopt the popular fashion of the world, and by that I mean more than physical clothing, I should protest and remain clothed only in Christ. Would that as I dress myself each morning, I would remember this underlying truth.