“Hey man! I liked Mumford and Sons BEFORE they were on VH1."

“Oh yeah, well you’re an idiot."

This is a dialogue I’ve had with myself on many occasions.  Hipster elitism at its most unashamed.   I was driving the other day listening to KURE – the student run radio station in Ames – and the pleasant but surely hipster DJ was about to play a new set, when she began with this disclaimer:

I’ll be playing Foster the People, but NOT “Pumped up Kicks”

I scoffed at such a statement.  On two levels.  First, if she were a true hipster, and really wanted to be cool she wouldn’t play Foster the People at all.  What an amateur.  My second thought was much more mature, and I sadly thought, man just play whatever. 

The tension within me to be a “hipster” (whatever that means) and all that it entails, begs a much truer and a much more brutally honest question: “Am I trying to be cool and original or am I just a jerk?”

 …hmm

I’ll answer the question with another anecdote: I went to Starbucks this morning and I saw them selling the new Wilco and the new Feist album.  And a little tiny voice within me said, get ready to start not liking them… 

WHAT!?!

Dang it! I AM a jerk.

I love Wilco and I love Feist.  Why would I even consider not liking them only because I saw their CD’s being sold at one of the biggest, most popular coffee chains in the entire world? Ugh. 

And this raised another important question within my heart.  Does God want me to be a hipster?

*By hipster, I don’t really mean the hipster culture (mac books, fixie bikes, tight jeans, etc.)  just more so the elitist, exclusive and more damaging mindset of being “cool” or “original.” 

I’ve had such a mindset for as long as I can remember.  At certain points in life it has hindered me, at other points it has allowed me to seek and find things I otherwise would never have discovered if not for breaking away from the mold. 

My parents like any other parents once asked me if I would follow so-and-so if they were to jump off a bridge.  What was at the heart of this rhetorical question is the proverb: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (13:20) 

My adolescent interpretation was a bit different.  Even despite my fear of heights, jumping off a bridge seemed pretty cool.  Pretty exciting.  So I heard,  be cool in your own way.  Jump off your own bridge.   And once others start to crowd your bridge, you got to find another one. 

Damn straight. 

But this is the opposite of the gospel.  Jesus says: “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Bah!  So true.  Jesus says this not only because he wants his glory to be spread, but he’s also speaking to our natural nature.  When you see a good movie don’t you want to tell someone about it?  When a funny, embarrassing moment happens don’t you begin to text a friend to tell them?  When you get a new insight aren’t you excited to share it with another?  

And so I will dedicate myself to sharing joy with others.  Any and all joy, without hesitation, without concerns if I am being cool or original.  I will be unashamed.  So without further ado: