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Posts Tagged ‘Abercrombie & Fitch’

UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED AND VALUED

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2024| 4 Comments »

“You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.”

Chip Wilson, the founder of lifestyle clothing giant Lululemon, dropped those controversial words during a recent interview about the company’s direction since he departed in 2015.

This takes me back to 2013, when an Abercrombie & Fitch executive created a media storm by shamelessly declaring the clothing retailer tried to exclude anyone but “cool kids” from buying its products. (The controversy inspired me to write this: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-7o.)

Then, as now with Chip Wilson, the issue is all about ranking the value of people. That’s a constant, subtle focus of our culture, designed to make people feel special. The trouble is, it does so by downgrading certain types of what we might regard as less desirable people.

Most of us, and that includes ME, are guilty of this — often without even knowing it. And it’s been going on since the dawn of humanity. Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God, often battled this mindset during His physical time on earth.

Jesus spent time with the rejects of his day — tax collectors for the hated Roman empire (which occupied ancient Israel, where Jesus lived), prostitutes, menstruating women, people with mental health issues and more.

Jesus did so for two reasons, and I believe those reasons apply to YOU and me:

  1. He wanted them to know they were unconditionally loved and valued, no matter what anyone said to them or behaved toward them.
  2. He wanted them to recognize they had missed the mark of who God created them to be, and it was possible to fix that by following Him.

Now transfer this list to YOU: Jesus wants YOU to know YOU are unconditionally loved and valued, with all your faults and with all the wrong things you’ve done (and the right things you’ve failed to do).

Second, YOU and me have missed the mark of who God created us to be. We’ve listened to our culture’s siren call and, more often than not, made meaningless things (money, toys, vacations, trophy spouses, sexual pleasure) our focus, all the while living as if we have no Creator. In other words, at the urging of the world around us, we have made ourselves God.

Upon realizing this, I opened my mind and heart to Jesus. I’m glad to tell you that He entered my life and is making me more generous and less self-centred, more loving and less insecure, more contented and less angry. The list continues, but you get it. And the work won’t end until this life is finished and my life in Heaven starts.

Sound attractive? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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FROM EXCLUSIVE TO INCLUSIVE

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2013| 12 Comments »

10638108-abercrombie-and-fitch“Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

These were the words of Mike Jeffries, the chief executive officer of trendy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, spoken in a 2013 interview with Salon, the online news and entertainment website.

That this was the policy of his company is not surprising; lots of retailers aim their products at a specific demographic (rarely mine, I can tell you) and ignore all others.

But none have been so bold – or brave – to publicly state that they don’t want overweight, older or ‘unattractive’ people anywhere near their products.

I was fascinated by the resulting controversy; many people, media outlets and websites reacted almost violently to Jefferies. Some online posters even searched out and shared the most unflattering photos of the CEO that they could find.

But isn’t it clear that Abercrombie & Fitch’s philosophy is exactly how our world works? Haven’t you seen or heard advertisements for condominiums that emphasize how exclusive they are? And aren’t certain restaurants trendy because they are exclusive? What about golf and country clubs – don’t they attract a certain kind of person who likes their exclusivity?

More important, aren’t there times in our lives when most of us – me included – have yearned for a meal in that exclusive eatery or lusted after a unit in that trendy housing project? We actually want to exclude others.

In some ways, I appreciate Mike Jeffries thrusting this unpleasant human characteristic into the spotlight. It gives me a chance to examine my own thinking patterns. It also highlights one big reason why I hold fast to my faith in Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son.

You may have been told, or come to believe, that following Jesus is exclusionary – that only people in the club get to spend eternity in Heaven with God and Jesus.

Serious Jesus followers do believe that because in one of the original source documents of His life, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.”

But what the critics of Jesus don’t tell you is anyone – and I mean ANYONE – can join Jesus in Heaven. God presents His son as a GIFT to every man, woman and child on planet Earth. Gifts are made to be accepted and that’s all you and me have to do to get in on this so-called “exclusive” offer.

When you tell God you want to trust in His son (who many people believe died to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do), the slate is wiped clean. No matter how ugly your past might be.

How inclusive is this gift? It’s open to Mike Jefferies, it’s open to me, it’s open to YOU, it’s even open to the most reprehensible kind of person (read one such story here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-6K).

So what do you think of this gift? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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