I know that in my last blog I mentioned how the song Rudolph gives a negative message that people who are different are valuable only if they can do something for you. But number nine on my ranking of top 10 favorite Christmas songs is “We’re A Couple Of Misfits” from Rankin Bass’s 1964 classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Now in this show Rudolph is teased and shunned as usual. There is also an elf who doesn’t want to be an elf but would rather be a dentist who is also made fun of. These two find each other and have adventures trying to get away from the abominable snow monster, and an adventure in the Island of Misfit Toys where all the imperfect toys end up.
The story starts with Rudolph’s father Donner trying to hide Rudolph’s ever glowing nose but when it becomes unhidden, he is ridiculed and no longer allowed to play the reindeer games. That is when he meets Hermie, an elf that wants to be more than just an elf. He wants to be in- de- pendent. They become fast friends and try to be in-de-pendent together. Both not fitting in their own worlds and that is when they sing a song that celebrates their and in a way our differences
These are the best lyrics about celebrating individuality:
We may be different from the rest.
Who decides the test?
Of what is really best?
We’re a couple of misfits.
We’re a couple of misfits.
What’s the matter with misfits?
That’s where we fit in!
It is silly how we try to put ourselves in a cookie cutter world where the square pegs stand out and are cast aside. But these two found each other and became Misfits together.
I have never been popular. I have always felt outside of the mainstream. I am glad that I have my own friends, my own group of Misfits to have fun with.
But in this world we live in, being a true follower of Christ makes you a misfit. Atheists make fun of you and consider you foolish. You don’t fit it with the fundamentalists when you question their dogma and their politics. We become a people that don’t fit in. But community is important. If one community treats you like a misfit, find another community that will accept you for you are. If they don’t accept you for you are, do you really want to be part of that community.
I am blessed that I have found two communities. My gaming group and my church don’t just tolerate this misfit, but they love this misfit and allow this misfit to use his gifts for the good of the rest.
We are all broken in one way or another. We all have something that separates us from another. The key is to not let it, rather to love our neighbors, differences and all. And that is what this song is all about.
2timothytrump 