When you go into a store to buy clothes, you choose clothes that will fit you. You try on clothes that are your size.
A person who wears an extra small is not more valuable than a person who wears an extra-large.
Tall, short, thin, fat, small, large. The outward appearance doesn’t show the heart.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7
Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch doesn’t sell plus size clothing in his stores. The largest size for women is a size 10-12. If you are a woman and your waist is larger than 31 inches you won’t fit into their jeans. The largest waist size for men’s pants is 36 inches. Men’s shirts go as large as an XXL. You can see the size chart here. Jeffries likes to sell to small woman, and men with big chests and small waists.
Jeffries places value on size. He limits who can buy his products.
His marketing plan is limited. His view on people is limited.
Mark Twain and Mike Jeffries are wrong. Clothes don’t make the man. The heart does.
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
Mark Twain
Jeffries has been called ugly. People don’t like the comment he made in an interview in 2006 about wanting to sell to cool kids, so they call him ugly. Repaying evil for evil. I don’t care what Jeffries looks like.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
1Peter 3:9
And it’s his business; he can sell his clothes to whoever he wants. He can make his clothes any size he wants. You don’t have to shop in his stores. You decide which retailer gets your money. No retailer is getting any of my money for at least a year as I am not buying any clothes for 365 days.
Jeffries made a public apology on May 15th on his companies facebook page. I have quoted part of it here.
We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics.
Mike Jeffries
I will pray for Mike Jeffries. I pray he will realize people are more than their size. If he is really completely opposed to discrimination he needs to cut some new pattern sizes for his clothes.
God values me. I don’t need to be a size small to feel valued.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Luke 12:24
You are valuable. God doesn’t care what size clothing you wear. He looks at your heart.
Do you feel size is important? Where do you get your value from?
