There’s quite a ruckus going on at Carmon’s blog because she posted a picture of James Dobson’s son, Ryan, sporting a little biker/cutting edge look. From the onset, I knew there’d be feather ruffling, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the discourse.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that if I encountered Rockin’ Ryan in a dark alley, I’d probably quickly gather my chickadees to my bosom and tighten the clutch on my purse. I might even just throw my wallet at him and advise my children to, “Run!” Although you can’t judge a book by its cover, well, sometimes a little low-key marketing doesn’t hurt.

Now, before you imagine any stones coming from this glass house, let me say your conclusion is a little premature. It’s nearly impossible to look at the discussion without biased opinion. I happen to like my ankle-length attire, and all I’m missing is a head-coverin’. We humans like things to be black-and-white, and for that matter, sometimes when devising our standards we inadvertently set up a god in our own image. Yet, what we, as Christians, wear is not immaterial; it matters.

I’m not digressing with my story here. My six-year-old son, McGregor, had some sage advice for his 29-year-old unwedded aunt. He said, “I know who Aunt Jacqui should marry—someone who loves God with his whole heart and doesn’t bow down to idols.” We are in the process of studying Exodus during family worship, so this admonition didn’t come as a surprise. However, as I reflect on what he said, I think the kid has a good point.

What we 21st century Christians wouldn’t give that Christ would come back and set it all straight. Still, the children of Israel had fresh manna daily and didn’t even have to interpret the Words of God through a cultural glass, yet they rebelled, set up idols, and went on their own merry, pagan way. They had the complete, ultimate “how to” book, and still deliberately set up gods in their own image, stone idols to replace God-breathed law.

I venture to hypothesize that even if we had a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for how a 21st century Christian should look, we’d still rebel. The same sin that dwelt in them, is alive and well in us. We are all sons of Adam and daughters of Eve: living, breathing, working, lovin’, and yes, even dressing, in a sin-stained world. To wit, I don’t toss out this Scripture flippantly: Man sees the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

The Rockin’ Ryan dilemma centers on how far we should go to become like those whom the Lord has called us to reach. And it is probably a discussion that will go on and on. It is good that we ponder, pause, and pontificate the matter. Let it continue.

But in all our ramblings, let us remember that the ultimate culture-mesher was the God-Man: Jesus Christ. God Himself condescended, took on human form, and became flesh so that we, in turn, could inherit eternal life. When the depth of this truth is internalized in our mortal hearts, then we will know which shoes to wear when we walk out the door.

Now, go love God and don’t bow down to idols.