Why We Chose to Ditch our Converses
Converses seem to have been around forever. They belong to a class of style that has been pretty timeless in the way they have been in style every single decade. They’ve been the one accessory that you will find on kids (and adults) in every group- whether it‘s the more alternative ones or the preppy ones. With their red, white, and blue star logo, these shoes are a favorite amongst kids, teens, moms and dads, and even grandparents can be seen sporting them. They’ve been a favorite in our house for a while now.
But today, we came across a post on social media that caused us to stop in our tracks. You see, a few years ago the Lord starting pointing out some things to us. Things that were blatantly rooted in paganism, but were touted in our culture as acceptable and even admirable- behaviors, media, clothing, attitudes, beliefs. You name it, we’ve made some pretty major changes in our home and our lives. So today, when we came across the Converse Official Instagram page, you can imagine our shock at seeing this:
What in the world IS THAT? It’s a portrayal of DEMONS in the form of a PENTAGRAM.
Yep. That’s it.
I know many professing Christians are going to look at this and think, “So What?”
So, I’ll explain why this is a problem, and I’ll do it with the Word.
You see, as Christians, we are called to be set apart from the world- in the way we think, the way we believe, the way we carry ourselves, and, YES, even the way we dress. We are to move around the earth in a way that people would instantly know that we are Children of the One True God.
We are to present ourselves at all times in all manner TO HIM, as a living sacrifice because THAT is how we know Him, please Him (by faith), and show others we are His.
“ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God ,which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” -ROMANS 12:1-2
1 Corinthians 10: 21-22 state, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
Let’s take a closer look at the photo Converse gave us to consider:
We live in a world where we are told that the supernatural world is a joke- it’s just fun stuff you see on TV and in movies and it’s harmless. But it isn’t. All through the Bible, we see spiritual warfare being undertaken and this is spiritual warfare at it’s finest. The weapon being used here is the same weapon being used in media in our culture- deception. We’ve been deceived into believing that these things are harmless, that the “dark forces” can’t hurt us, and the demonic is nothing more than fantasy.
However, going through the Bible, the entire history of the world is wrought with evil spirits leading people astray, demons oppressing people, and causing mischief. These aren’t the villains of metaphorical stories- they are actual beings whose sole purpose is to harm those they hate. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...”
In this case, the weapon of deceit is an attempt at making this demonic worship on the part of the creator seem as if it is a good, wholesome thing. Let’s look at the Instagram post:
In this post, the creator confesses that his five-sided star in the Converse logo is, in fact, a pentagram and he acknowledges the “occult associations.” He then attempts to make it out to be something positive as he appeals to our sense of control and organization. He goes further, implies that occultism, of which the pentagram is a direct symbol, suggests “openness and empathy...pursuit of pleasure....pursuit of sensation...leads us to be more accepting and tolerant of other systems.”
Assuming occultism and Satanism is the opposite or, as he calls it “alternative” to Godliness, when we dig a bit deeper, what we see here is an open call to embrace, tolerate, and champion SIN because it FEELS GOOD to the flesh.
It finishes out with their intent: “to distort the ubiquitous...” Now, one can certainly assume that the ubiquitousness to which they refer is the classic shape of their shoe, as this new DRKSHDW (see what they did there) campaign is a different silhouette, OR since they’ve put out many new silhouettes before, one could draw attention to the definition of the word “ubiquitous” in conjunction with the overall message of the post.
According to dictionary.com, ubiquitous has a synonym: omnipresent. There is one God who is omnipresent: the God of the Bible. The one TRUE God. So, we can ignore the overall message and say it is the former OR we can recognize that this is a direct attack on God and Christians As they attempt to distort the Omnipresent.”
I will leave you with this final call: we, as Christians, should look different than the world. Not just in attitude, beliefs, and behavior. But also in appearances. We are called out to be separated.
We are set apart.
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 KJV
And for our family, that means we can’t (or, rather, WON’T, wear things that have been openly declared as an assault on what we hold sacred.
In all Grace,
Will & Cate
