As I was getting my clothes ready, I almost forgot to pick out an appropriate necktie to go with what I usually wear to the church office.  I tried to remember the first time that I recalled ever having to wear a tie. Well, my memory is a bit sketchy, but I do have a kindergarten school picture of myself at five years of age, and sure enough I am wearing a necktie. I cannot remember if it was one of those clip-on models or not. I do recall that it was not until I became a cadet in High School that I actually learned how to properly tie a tie. I played a musical instrument, so the uniform of all band members was a Scottish dress outfit that included a white shirt and a tie. How times change!
One thing that has not changed much is the fact that most of my working life, I have worn a tie. I am not certain of the exact name of the knot that I use (I think that it is a ‘half Windsor” knot), but I can still, tie it up in seconds, and I probably have done so in my sleep.  Recently, I watched a CBC program of “Land and Sea” that included a video biography of an older gentleman on Fogo Island in Newfoundland. He is in his nineties now, and he has been retired for years, yet he still wears a tie every day. Apparently, he worked in a bank all his life, and every morning he went through the tie ritual as I do. Old habits are hard to break. However, for the younger folks now, ties seem to be daunting and confusing. I don’t see many young men wear them at all. Fashions and attitudes change for sure. There is also the health and safety factor involved. Many medical employees don’t wear them because they are said to spread germs among patients more readily. Ties are not laundered as often as the rest of your clothes, so they are more prone to dust and dirt. There is also the safety problem for professions that operate machinery. Ties can become entangled in power equipment quite easily. Thus, I can see the need for care. Perhaps, the other factor involved is that people see the tie as a symbol with which they do not wish to be associated. Ties might symbolize the “slavery” of the employee to comply with a company’s image. It’s restrictive. It’s confining. Yes, I’ve heard it all. Yet, despite all the criticism against the tie, I find them liberating. They can come in all sorts of colours and patterns. They accent the clothes that you are wearing. They express your mood and lifestyle. They can even provide biographic information, if you have a school tie or belong to a Scottish clan. And, yes, they do keep my neck warm in winter! All of these traits are comforting to me, not burdensome.
Back in 1782, John Fawcett was a pastor at a small and impoverished church in England. After seven years he was offered a more affluent church in London. He and his wife Mary were all packed up to go, but at the last minute both admitted that they could not bear to leave their tiny church. The wagons were unloaded by the now cheerful congregants, and the Fawcetts remained there for the next 44 years! The experience inspired the pastor to write the words for a famous hymn, namely, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”.
“Blest be the tie that binds, Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds, Is like to that above.
We share each other’s woes, Our mutual burdens bear; And often for each other flows, The sympathizing tear.”
 Obviously, there are some ties that do bind, but it is worth it if they are bound with love.