Are You HOT Enough?

Welcome to the "Theater of the Mind" - a progressive performance pitting a private protagonist perilously in the pagan populi to pursue particularly put-off people previously (and providentially) positioned pending personal - yet poignant - predicaments wherein pleasantries and/or the perusal of paraphernalia perhaps may be purposefully parlayed (a tip of the proverbial hat to my dear friend, V). All that to say this - given any (seemingly) random encounter decorating our otherwise dull, dreary and (okay, okay... no more alliteration)  otherwise ordinary day, are we making ourselves HOT enough for other people?

Don't worry, true believers, this is NOT going to be a narcissistic rant... after all, it's not like this blog is all about the things that run through my... oh, wait a minute, it IS (fancy that).

For those wanting to read ahead, you might not want to... or you'll miss the GOOD stuff.

When we all get up - at least those of us amongst the living - in the morning, we have routines that prepare us for the day: a pattern of behavior we engage in based on what we EXPECT to encounter within the context of our day... whether we're HOT or not.

Perhaps I should paint a (camouflaged) picture...

When I was in the Army, I use to joke with the other "Joes" about having to work with a U.S. Army Chaplain. Many instances, the job - not necessarily the Chaplain, himself - became the butt of the joke. To pick one rather clever exchange from the myriad of others is hard, but the following one came to mind about two minutes into this blog.

I forget the circumstances which precipitated me deploying "solo" for field training exercises at Fort Bragg without the assigned Chaplain - but that's not the point, although it's helpful to understand the context.

When I deployed in this capacity, I carried Bibles, tracts, communion kit, a series of reference regulations, a binder and wore a pastoral stole. All of that was in addition to the forty pound rucksack, Kevlar helmet, magazines (ammo), water, first aid kit, knives and an M-16A2 rifle. Yeah, I was a sight to behold in my younger days - and despite all my youth-filled vigor, I wasn't as HOT as I would've liked to have been. 

I was assigned to a field artillery battalion out doing live-fire exercises and getting from battery-to-battery took a bit of driving - both on-and-off the firebreaks - and "humping" (military vernacular for throwing one's ruck, pack, gear on one's back and trekking out in to the wilds with, or without, map-and-compass - usually to end one's time in this method of travel in a humped-over posture, thus the origin of the term).

Coming upon one of the gun positions (towed 155 mm, to be exact), I hear the fire team attempting to clean up their language. To which I responded, "If I'm the only evidence of God in your lives, you've got larger issues than my office can deal with." I knew exactly why the were trying to straighten up and fly right... appearances.

Visually unphased by what I had to say, one of the sergeants asked me, "Hey, in order to work with the Chaplain, do you have to be 'religious' to get that job?" Not wanting to miss a chance to 'one-up' him, I said, "Yes. I am a very religious man - every morning after I get out of bed, I pee without fail."

FYI: religion only infers "habit" or "routine", not moral excellence

Now, although I had a lot to say back then (what do you mean "you STILL do, dear?"), I was not HOT... Honest, Open and Transparent.

So, why not be HOT? In a word? Comfort.

Most people would rather you and I see only what they wish us to see. Sometimes that encompasses wearing a figurative "mask" outside the home... other times, it's folks we know, being a bit more cunning (and, I am being "kind" by phrasing it this way).

"Oh, but that's not me!" Really? Consider these...

Imagine (again) living in a large family where you have to walk on proverbial egg shells around hyper-sensitive people? No peace there I think. Or, how about (from my own background) living with someone so full of rage and bitterness that you wonder when the would-be tea kettle will erupt? Imagine having to put on airs in front of your boss, irrespective of however they manage (well or poorly). Or, feeling compelled to wear a plastic smile walking into worship, mortified if anyone really knew what you were thinking.

Have you ever ran into someone at the ball game who you tell you're "doing good" when you're really entertaining thoughts you'd be ashamed to see detailed on the jumbo-tron? Ever hurt so much inside, in the presence of those who could help, but because of pride, chose to chew the inside of your mouth while your acid wore a new hole in your stomach lining? How about this - ever (perish the thought) pretend you liked someone you go to school with?

Two-faced, hypocritical, robots that we all are - what to do, what to do?

Now, it's taken me about a third of my life to get to the point where the grace of God has me HOT... and being HOT, like this, is so insanely freeing, really... warts and all. And I don't have it down pat - just ask my wife, my boss, my pastor. I have NOT arrived at being HOT... just a bit freer than most, but not where God would have me to be with it. MMLIA