A few days ago, I was speaking to a man who teaches classes in the North Carolina prison system. These classes are for those inmates who are within a year of being paroled or finishing their sentence. He teaches basic life skills like how to search for a job, interview for a job, and basic personal finance and budgeting skills. He shared his shock with me when his students wanted to include $1,000 a month in their budget for “bling”. He chuckled at the thought. At that time, I thought “bling” was only nice clothes and asked if him if he taught skills in washing clothes? $1000 a month for clothes? It sounded ludicrous.

    I pondered these things and researched the term. “Bling” is considered slang and as I give links for the definition, be warned; it is a street term in many regards, the definition will reflect that fact. But, I felt pushed forward to know more as I had spent many years at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). They taught their members how to wash clothes, iron clothes and fold and store clothes and even which dry cleaner to go to in town. But, looking back and remembering some things Jane Whaley said about her clothes and how she acted; I wondered if there was WOFF bling? Did/does Jane have a “bling budget”? Well, we know she did/does not tell her members what her budget was/is or how she spends the tithes and offerings. So, we can’t know for sure but, we can observe her actions and maybe know.

   Bling – Bling (or bling-bling) is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps. The concept is mostly associated with rappers, but recently has expanded to include tacky “white trash” types. (resource link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bling-bling )

    Well, honestly, I could not say that Jane and her crew wore “flashy ostentatious or elaborate jewelry” and I have never seen a flashy cell phone or a tooth cap on Jane. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of jewelry on the leadership women and some others, but, I can’t say it is flashy. But, I searched on.

Here is another source for the definition for “bling”:

Jamaican slang that has been adopted by some African American rappers and inserted into popular culture. The term “Bling Bling” refers to the imaginary “sound” that is produced from light reflected by a diamond. See The Silvertones “Bling Bling Christmas” for the earliest known usage of the slang.(resource link http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bling )

 Now, I was getting somewhere. It may refer to a sound of flashy jewelry… and there are lots of diamonds at WOFF. That began to make more sense. Here are two other definitions from the same source:

2. Often takes the form of jewelry, may be expensive but is commonly cheap, used to give the impression of wealth. Adored by Chav’s.

3. Gaudy over the top hideous and wholly unnecessary.

     It is clear that Jane Whaley does not buy cheap looking jewelry, she may be a good shopper, but it does not look cheap, as far as I remember. “…to give the impression of wealth”—hmmm, you tell me. Does that fit? The third definition seemed to give me some understanding. Bling includes things which are “Gaudy over the top hideous and wholly unnecessary.” Now, as far as my time at WOFF goes I could remember several things I considered wholly unnecessary. Let’s stick to the area of dress for now.

     We have discussed before on this blog the requirements for dress at WOFF. We have mentioned their base foundation Scripture about dressing “for beauty and honor”. But, in many cases, is the code of WOFF-dress wholly unnecessary? It may not be cheap flashy jewelry, but, is it necessary to dress like you are attending a funeral or wedding at almost every church service? Is every trip to Wal-Mart® a social event which requires you to be styling and profiling? Is there anything a man or woman could drape over their body that gives more glory and honor to the God who hung the stars and set the planets on course? Can the clothes or jewelry a woman or man wears to church give more glory and honor to the God who set the seasons on course and the ocean in its boundaries? Can anything a man or woman wears give more, add anything to who God is or will be; what He does or can do?

     Please, just admit Jane and many in her crew are stuck on dressing nice and love it to be so. That would be better than using some religious excuse as to why you do it and why it should be done and why you are supposedly more holy for dressing the way you do. Don’t attempt to blame your desire to please God for your wholly unnecessary desire to dress a certain way. The awesomeness of God cannot be added to by anything a man or woman can wear on their bodies.

    So, is there WOFF-bling? I would say so. Is there deception used to excuse the WOFF-bling and make it seem more or most acceptable and holy? You tell me. Is that deception on Jane and others in her group any less powerful than the deception on those in our culture that pursue other types of “bling”? It appears not. Please, since you have bling, just admit it and don’t make some excuse or pretend you don’t enjoy the attention you get wearing your WOFF-bling. The attention you crave and have for wearing WOFF-bling is what it is; don’t excuse it as something it is not.   

   Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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       (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 283.