Cold Or Hot?
I've been basking in the increasingly warm weather lately. Being able to go outside in forty to fifty degree weather and feel warm is fun. I think it's interesting how the body gets used to a regular temperature, and then bases what is warm and cold off that. When it's around seventy-five during the day as a constant temperature, the body gets used to that and registers temperatures around fifty as cold, as opposed to warm when it's used to thirty degree weather.
However, along comes the time when I get used to sunny sixty-five, and a sudden chill slinks in. It rained today. I love rain, but it was also cold. And when I say cold, I mean fifty-something. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem, but now that I'm used to warmer weather that temperature (or anything below it) feels cold now. And to put it truthfully, it's a little irritating.
It's irritating because I used to work in that climate without a thought for the temperature, but now it takes some brainpower away from the task at hand to keep from being deterred by a mere temperature change. What I mean by that is some of my thought is devoted to ignoring the weather. That sounds counter-productive, in that it makes more sense to devote all thought to the task at hand, therefore ignoring the conditions, but it works best for me.
Still though, there's something about cold weather that can also be invigorating. Like a cold drink is refreshing, a chill breeze provokes me to vigorous movement in an effort to warm up. It's invigorating. Just breathing a cool air in seems to wake my brain up. Of course, some of the time it makes me want to curl into a ball with a blanket, but I'm choosing to ignore that side of the idea now :-)
On the other side, when I'm used to fifty degree weather and it suddenly warms to seventy, it can feel overtly hot, but in a good way. Like a chicken coming out of the freezer, sitting out in the sun just seems to melt into my muscles and soften the built up tension. A sense of healing comes up as a description for this.
That said, revelations 3:14-16 puts some spin on the idea.
"To the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the fauthful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Let me ask you, which do you feel you are? Excluding lukewarm, which is a whole other discussion itself. Cold or hot? It doesn't matter if you're not sure right now. Personally, I don't know which one I am myself yet. I'd like to think I lean towards the hot side. (and I'm not talking about looks)
Isn't this part of what makes some people more attractive? I know some people that are just downright invigorating, they can be almost incessantly uplifting and cheerful. They are simply refreshing. Other people are on the other end of the spectrum, healing. They exude care, and just seem to help people feel better almost without trying. Seriously, who do you see the most people around? It isn't the ones who are lukewarm and confused as to which side they are. It's either the infectious, laugh provoking people, or the ones people have come to realize care about what they're thinking, and how they're doing. Both are equally genuine. I could spend a long time talking about the whole idea of why some people are popular and others not, but I think it's best saved for a future post. The purpose of this post is simply to lay out the idea, are you cold or hot?
I don't believe either side is inferior to the other. I do believe that people are inherently cold or hot, it's just a matter of whether they know that or not. I said earlier that I'd like to think I'm on the hot side, but there are times when I wish I was cold. What I want to say is, don't be irritated if you are cold, and not hot. Accept your cold and cheer everybody up! You will also be cheered up. Don't be irritated (like me) if you are hot and not cold. Accept your heat and care for those that you can, instead of wishing you could be the invigoration. You will also be cared for, often by those same people.
So...... are you cold or hot? Live it!
EDIT: April 30, 2010
It's also interesting to note the towns that were on either side of Laodicea. I don't remember the names, but one had cold mountain springs, and was known for it because of the refreshing water. The town on the other side of Laodicea had hot water from, well I don't remember that either, but it was hot. Laodicea, being an inland town between the two others, used an aqueduct to import water from both places. However, as a consequence of this necessity, all the water in Laodicea ended up being a nasty lukewarm. This is one reason why God tells the angel to write about different temperatures to Laodicea, because he knew how they'd be able to relate to that and understand what he was telling them. That's a little background information that you don't really need, but it helps put things into perspective. And I just think it's kind of cool :-)
However, along comes the time when I get used to sunny sixty-five, and a sudden chill slinks in. It rained today. I love rain, but it was also cold. And when I say cold, I mean fifty-something. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem, but now that I'm used to warmer weather that temperature (or anything below it) feels cold now. And to put it truthfully, it's a little irritating.
It's irritating because I used to work in that climate without a thought for the temperature, but now it takes some brainpower away from the task at hand to keep from being deterred by a mere temperature change. What I mean by that is some of my thought is devoted to ignoring the weather. That sounds counter-productive, in that it makes more sense to devote all thought to the task at hand, therefore ignoring the conditions, but it works best for me.
Still though, there's something about cold weather that can also be invigorating. Like a cold drink is refreshing, a chill breeze provokes me to vigorous movement in an effort to warm up. It's invigorating. Just breathing a cool air in seems to wake my brain up. Of course, some of the time it makes me want to curl into a ball with a blanket, but I'm choosing to ignore that side of the idea now :-)
On the other side, when I'm used to fifty degree weather and it suddenly warms to seventy, it can feel overtly hot, but in a good way. Like a chicken coming out of the freezer, sitting out in the sun just seems to melt into my muscles and soften the built up tension. A sense of healing comes up as a description for this.
That said, revelations 3:14-16 puts some spin on the idea.
"To the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the fauthful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Let me ask you, which do you feel you are? Excluding lukewarm, which is a whole other discussion itself. Cold or hot? It doesn't matter if you're not sure right now. Personally, I don't know which one I am myself yet. I'd like to think I lean towards the hot side. (and I'm not talking about looks)
Isn't this part of what makes some people more attractive? I know some people that are just downright invigorating, they can be almost incessantly uplifting and cheerful. They are simply refreshing. Other people are on the other end of the spectrum, healing. They exude care, and just seem to help people feel better almost without trying. Seriously, who do you see the most people around? It isn't the ones who are lukewarm and confused as to which side they are. It's either the infectious, laugh provoking people, or the ones people have come to realize care about what they're thinking, and how they're doing. Both are equally genuine. I could spend a long time talking about the whole idea of why some people are popular and others not, but I think it's best saved for a future post. The purpose of this post is simply to lay out the idea, are you cold or hot?
I don't believe either side is inferior to the other. I do believe that people are inherently cold or hot, it's just a matter of whether they know that or not. I said earlier that I'd like to think I'm on the hot side, but there are times when I wish I was cold. What I want to say is, don't be irritated if you are cold, and not hot. Accept your cold and cheer everybody up! You will also be cheered up. Don't be irritated (like me) if you are hot and not cold. Accept your heat and care for those that you can, instead of wishing you could be the invigoration. You will also be cared for, often by those same people.
So...... are you cold or hot? Live it!
EDIT: April 30, 2010
It's also interesting to note the towns that were on either side of Laodicea. I don't remember the names, but one had cold mountain springs, and was known for it because of the refreshing water. The town on the other side of Laodicea had hot water from, well I don't remember that either, but it was hot. Laodicea, being an inland town between the two others, used an aqueduct to import water from both places. However, as a consequence of this necessity, all the water in Laodicea ended up being a nasty lukewarm. This is one reason why God tells the angel to write about different temperatures to Laodicea, because he knew how they'd be able to relate to that and understand what he was telling them. That's a little background information that you don't really need, but it helps put things into perspective. And I just think it's kind of cool :-)
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