I was walking through the mall last week and in the window, dressed in a plaid bellbottom pantsuit, was a mannequin. (Why don’t we call it a womanquin when it’s female?)

I laughed out loud and thought, live long enough and you start to see a familiar pattern—new things are just recycled old things. Like Solomon once wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

In part, I snickered because nobody in their 20s or 30s thinks I’m hip, word, rad, cool, hot, or whatever they call it nowadays (uh, I’m pretty sure all of those words are old).

I don’t wear skinny jeans.

I’ll never have a man-bun.

And I prefer real coffee over organic pomegranate herbal tea.

That being said, I did wear high-top Converse All Stars back before Nixon.

And once upon a time, what most people think is dope now, I bought at Sears back in the ‘60s.

My point?

Well, if you’re a young hipster, trust me when I say, your hipster days are numbered. And if you’re not-so-hip and your kids are embarrassed to be seen with you in public, first check your fly, then relax. It’s okay. Someday they’ll understand that no one and no thing stays trendy forever.

Maybe what matters most in this world are things like authenticity, humility, faithfulness, and kindness.

Maybe character means more than what we wear. Remember, whether you’re 20 or 60, mercy and compassion are always in vogue.

Whether you’re old or young, it’s something to think about.

By the way, I expect “groovy” to make a return any day now.

What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)