What a fun and crazy week, not just in Room 1501, but in all of Joy Christian School. We had an entire week full of Homecoming activities. A Pep Rally every day, Chapel on Wednesday, High School Class competitions, election of class royalty and homecoming king and queen, homecoming dance, volleyball games and a football game, etc. etc. Somewhere in there we squeezed in some great academia and education, too! It was a uniting week that made us proud to be Eagles! The School spirit was strong. I’m wiped out…in a good way.
Week 12 in Room 1501 was a week that demonstrated loyalty and devotion. I hope this blog makes you think about your devotion and dedication and loyalty…
This post is about Logos and the people who follow them.
The above logo could be called the Tribal badge of Joy Christian School. I love our logo. It is a strong image. Logos are not just a Joy Christian School thing…No…Churches, businesses, families, sports teams, even individuals…have tribal badges…aka…logos. It’s a human nature thing. We stick these badges on the windows of our autos, on T-shirts and hats, websites, sometimes we pay to have a costume made up so a person can climb in it and be the Mascot. I’ve seen logos tattooed on arms and legs. It seems our logos could be a tribal war cry to warn the different logo wearers of the impending danger. “You mess with one of us…you mess with us all.” 🙂
I’m curious about something.
What does your logo mean to you? If you are a part of the JCS family, what does this Eagle logo really mean to you?
Is it a beacon? Is it a lighthouse? Is it a radar, a warning signal, or just a good old symbol?
I know our logos are something that link people with common interests together. Kind of like, “Birds of a feather, flock together.” No Eagle pun intended!
Our logo, signals for us a place to gather and do things together. Things like what happens on Homecoming week.
But our logos are not us.
They are not real. They are just symbols.
So, on Homecoming week around Room 1501 on the JCHS campus, I got to thinking about why we do what we do.
Do we try to win the football game for the Eagle? Do we cheer for one side simply because of the specific colors on our uniforms, flags, and banners? Do we cheer, for example, as a group of Juniors at JCHS’s homecoming pep rally because of the paper banner that was made to signal where to gather as Juniors? Do we show up for the dance with our friends… for the Eagle? Do we get off work early to watch the girls volleyball game because of the Eagle? Did we gather on one side of the football stadium just because of the eagle?
No. It’s not about the Eagle….or whatever your logo or mascot is.
The Eagle, in the JCHS logo, doesn’t actually do anything. It is a symbol. Your logo is just a symbol. The people behind the logo are real. The logo will come and go, but not a quickly as people do.
So…..
When I misbehave, I pray you won’t defend me just because I have the same logo as you do. If you misbehave, I shouldn’t stay loyal to you and ignore your behavior, simply because we have the same logo. I pray you and I will never confuse our purpose with a mascot. At JCS, we don’t stand for the Eagle. The Eagle stands for us. Your logo doesn’t unite you, you unite with others because you are people who live for a similar purpose…the logo is supposed to be for fun…A way to recognize each other, but not how we identify ourselves. You and I have way more identity than some artistic logo. I pray your logo and our logo don’t divide, like some form of tribal racism, simply because our logos are different. I pray your loyalties are to the human race…to each other as people…not to the logo.
Logos don’t do anything. People do.
Your logo can’t do jack! But you can.
I pray you and I would simply do what is right. Not for the Eagle…or whatever your logo is…but simply because it is right.
I suppose I could take this subject beyond a logo. Under the banner of each logo are positions of power and titles. A title, like a logo, doesn’t do anything. You do things.
I think the human race longs for the day when all people stop pounding their logo as the better logo. It’s not better…it’s just different. I think the human race longs for the day when people won’t use their positions and logos to designate loyalties. Unity and Loyalty should be to one another as people, not to logos.
We are all the same. We are created beings, made by The Almighty God and Jesus, with the Holy Spirit…and as created beings we are tempted to segregate under positions, titles, and logos.
I pray that you represent your logo well. Not for your logo’s sake, but for your own sake.
The Apostle Paul seems to nail it with the Bible Verse of Colossians 3:23…
“23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for (logos).”
Paul’s writing didn’t use the word “logo”… he was writing in a different context and he actually used the word “people”.
A logo is just a symbol…it can’t actually create a reputation. Your behavior develops the emotion your logo evokes from others.
When people see your logo…what is the first feeling they get in their gut? The logo didn’t create that feeling. You did.
Your logo doesn’t create fans or enemies.
You do.
Your logo doesn’t build up or tear down.
You do.
Your logo doesn’t unite.
You do.
Let’s not do anything for a logo. Let’s do everything for the Lord.