Be the Real You...always

I have a hard time understanding some people, and want to say a few things about a particular area that's hard for me. That is: why do some people act differently, or treat people differently depending on where they are?

Take John Jones, for example. Now the John Jones I'm talking about is NOT a real person. It's just a name I picked for our example. John is active in his faith. He attends church on a regular basis, and even participates by helping the youth groups in his congregation. On Sundays, you will see John sitting in the pews and reading from the Good Book. By all appearances, John is a great guy.

Then Monday comes, and John sits in a strategy meeting with the top people from his company. They are trying to figure out a way to beat their best competition. One of the people in the meeting says he has a friend who works at the competitor, and that if this friend happens to receive a nice vacation with his family in Hawaii (all expenses paid), that he would provide some extremely valuable information that would help John's company get the upper hand. John and the others talk about how valuable that would be to their ability to compete, and they decide to go forward with the plan. John leaves the meeting with a feeling of euphoria. "Finally," he thinks to himself, "this could be the break we've been looking for to beat those SOBs."

Do you see the inconsistency between Sunday and Monday? Why does that happen? I just don't understand the ability some people have to turn their religion, their faith, their core values, on and off as easily as a light switch.

I recently experienced this myself. One of these days I'll give you the details, for now I will just say that I've experienced a Monday morning John Jones. I was stunned - maybe I'm just naive, or just plain stupid. I don't know, but I don't get it.

In my mind, stuff like that is just plain wrong. Call me old-fashioned, behind-the-times, out-of-it, or whatever else you want.

I believe that a person should be the same in every situation they find themselves in. Work, home, church, on the beach, in the Boardroom, in their hotel room, or speaking from the pulpit. Shouldn't matter....

I realize we all make mistakes and do things we regret. That's part of life, and recognizing those times and doing something about them - trying to avoid them in the future - is how we become better people.

So that's it for today. My wish for humanity today is simple - be real, be who you are no matter who that is, and no matter where you are. Just be real.