08.16.10
Profiling
I am me. Me I am. Nothing more, nothing less.
Part of that descriptor means I express myself if the moment. (which just so happens to be part of the natural makeup God wove into me!)
That "in the moment" expression may come out in the types of music I listen to (some days my office is ROCKIN', and other days you could hear the sweet sound of violins and piano...) the energy level of the conversation I'm in, or the style of clothing I wear.
Let's face it, creative-driven-leaders like to express themselves, OUT LOUD!
It's who God made them to be!
What's most intriguing to me is how differently people treat me, depending on the clothing I'm wearing!
On days I'm just coming home from the office, slacks and dry cleaned corporate logo shirt n' all, I pretty much get service and attention anywhere I go. Cashiers either don't say much to (professional intimidation?) or they engage in very clean, wholesome friendly "small talk."
A while back, on a week night, I had changed into more comfortable attire. A bigger t-shirt than I would typically wear (one of those "I support this cause" type shirts), shorts (its been 90º+ lately) and a "commander hat" cocked slightly to the side. I connected with a good friend of mine, who unfortunately has chosen to not buy a car himself, and we caught up over a nice quick dinner. As I was on my way dropping him off, we stopped by a convenience store so he could pick up some essentials (Milk, Bread, etc...). Perhaps it was my slightly off-center hat, or perhaps it was his tank top type t-shirt... but the clerk gave us both a funny look as we checked out with milk in hand.
"Looks like you're gonna have a fun evening tonight." she said.
"I'm sorry? What do you mean?" I asked
"Whole Milk? Yeah..." she replied
"What else do you put on cereal?" I naively asked.
"Cereal, sure... you boys are gonna make yourself some White Russians with it... yeah." She snorted
After some verbal volleys, it had become clear to me that no matter how innocent we were, she still chose to pin us on a crazy party lifestyle... only knowing one thing about us:
How we dressed.
Subsequently, I have had a few similar situations happen to me that could only be explained by dress code differences. I don't get it.
Take a look at these images, and jot down (perhaps in the comments section below) your first impressions:
WHY?
Galatians 3:27-29 (New Living Translation)
27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.[a] 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile,[b] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children[c] of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
We are all FREE now, because Christ has set us free. No class, no clothing, no language, no gender, NOTHING should label us or degrade us. We are all ONE in Christ Jesus.
I'm sure this woman (and others like her) grew up with a whole slew of circumstances that taught her the lie she now operates under, but this TRUTH contradicts it!
We all have our own unique lessons that life has taught us. Check those lessons against scripture, and maybe you'll experience the redemptive power of God's TRUTH too!
Don't Profile People. Please. :)
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