Perception or Reality...weighing my habits
DISCLAIMER: This post is written with NO ONE in mind. It is a generalization of conversations that I have heard and been a part of ever since I was 10 years old. It has nothing specifically to do with any specific High School or College/University.
I've spent a good amount of time the past couple weeks looking at myself from the vantage point of others. This is an activity I encourage each of you to do as well. Now, before you get me wrong, I'm not saying you need to place your value in the eyes of others, because that's just silly, but I am asking you to consider how even the smallest thing you do can have an impact on someone else.
I've been around athletes my whole life. The odor-filled locker room has become a place of community for me as well as a place of refuge. Once that stench hits the nostrils, the rules, norms, and regulations of the outside world no longer applied. I find myself immersed in conversation also known as "locker room talk." Now, for those of you who don't know, locker room talk is basically 100% lies. Nothing's ever happened the way it's explained before practice, and nothing ever happens the way someone says it will after practice. It's all hype, but it makes for great stories.
On top of that hype, however, there are quite a few words that are commonly used that I do not feel comfortable sharing. Let's just sum up by saying they're "not good." Most every story is laced with this language and when the stories end, the words do not. And this much exposure to this language can have and has had an affect on everyone there.
You see, often I found myself caught off guard by language used by guys around me one minute...then caught off guard by my own personal language the next. I had been in that environment for so long that it had begun to change who I was...at least in the eyes of others. But I claim there isn't necessarily a difference in this case.
As Christians, we are the Salt of the Earth, used as a preservative by God in society. Every time we let the world, or the language of the world infiltrate our appearance to others, we let go of our ability to be that preservative. We become less and less Salty.
Well, as I said I've been looking at my appearance more and more recently, and I've decided that the locker room talk left in me needed to get out. I used 13 "not good" words last week, and I plan on getting better as time goes on. I don't say that in boast, I'm just trying to keep my flavor.
Stay Salty,
Bobby
I've spent a good amount of time the past couple weeks looking at myself from the vantage point of others. This is an activity I encourage each of you to do as well. Now, before you get me wrong, I'm not saying you need to place your value in the eyes of others, because that's just silly, but I am asking you to consider how even the smallest thing you do can have an impact on someone else.
I've been around athletes my whole life. The odor-filled locker room has become a place of community for me as well as a place of refuge. Once that stench hits the nostrils, the rules, norms, and regulations of the outside world no longer applied. I find myself immersed in conversation also known as "locker room talk." Now, for those of you who don't know, locker room talk is basically 100% lies. Nothing's ever happened the way it's explained before practice, and nothing ever happens the way someone says it will after practice. It's all hype, but it makes for great stories.
On top of that hype, however, there are quite a few words that are commonly used that I do not feel comfortable sharing. Let's just sum up by saying they're "not good." Most every story is laced with this language and when the stories end, the words do not. And this much exposure to this language can have and has had an affect on everyone there.
You see, often I found myself caught off guard by language used by guys around me one minute...then caught off guard by my own personal language the next. I had been in that environment for so long that it had begun to change who I was...at least in the eyes of others. But I claim there isn't necessarily a difference in this case.
As Christians, we are the Salt of the Earth, used as a preservative by God in society. Every time we let the world, or the language of the world infiltrate our appearance to others, we let go of our ability to be that preservative. We become less and less Salty.
Well, as I said I've been looking at my appearance more and more recently, and I've decided that the locker room talk left in me needed to get out. I used 13 "not good" words last week, and I plan on getting better as time goes on. I don't say that in boast, I'm just trying to keep my flavor.
Stay Salty,
Bobby
posted by Bobby at 6:20 AM
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