Harassment Class

Last Saturday I was required to take a class on sexual harassment. We make all the usual jokes about it being "how-to" class. Mostly out of frustration. We have so much to do at work, and then they add in mandatory training for something that so rarely occurs. *sigh* At least, not here, it doesn't. Not much.

At least, I don't feel sexually harassed. And I don't know any one in my department who does. I know of two people who have been fired for sexual harassment. One was a time bomb waiting to happen, and the other caught us completely by surprise.

The class was about more than sexual harassment, though. It was about all types of harrassment: sexual, gender, age, race, etc. All in all, it was an okay class. The poor lady taught all 300 of us, in installments, over 4 days. Ours was the last class on the last day: Saturday, from 153-1730. *sigh* There were only 5 of us, so I couldn't sit in the back and snooze either. But, this way, she kept in constant contact with each of us, kept us involved, and the time went by quickly.

There are three qualifications to define something, legally, as harassment. Unfortunately, I only remember the first and the last: Is it unwanted, and does it change/affect the job environment, or something like that. I guess I only remember one and a half, then. Jokes I tell may be funny to my audience, but what about the person standing just outside my door? Do they feel pressured to conform? Does it make the security of their job dependent upon accepting my words/actions?

I consider myself a peon at my job, but I've been there 3 years today. I run errands for my manager, and most of the day crew comes to me for advice on ER registrations. I've become, sort of, a specialist in this area. It feels good, but with this extra ... honor, I guess ... comes extra responsibility. I have to hold myself up above reproach. I should anyway, but, this adds extra weight to my actions, giving them added validity. What I do must be okay, because I'm the one doing it. Right?

I may be joking and playing, but if those around me don't know me, they may take me seriously. Oops.

Thats where one particular phrase from the class sticks out: Content, not intent. I may intend to be funny, but its not my intent that is judged, it is the content of my words and actions. This extends far beyond the boundaries of the workplace, too.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it is still a road to hell. It is not the good intentions of our lives that God will judge. It is the content. Here's a good illustration. Suppose you have some friends over, and were going to make an omelet for everyone. Nice and easy. You have almost enough eggs, but not quite. Then, way in the back, you see a few more that, you suspect, have been there well past their "sell by" date. Are you going to use them? Just so you have enough for everyone, of course. Are you going to approach God and say, most of my life was good. There's just a few things that I did wrong. Its not going to work.

Many people are expecting to go to heaven because they are trying to be good. Because they go to church. This is sort of wierd. At the hospital, I have ask people if they have a religious preference, just in case we ever need to call a chaplain on their behalf. I'm suprised at the ones who say, "I don't know. I guess I'm a christian." You guess? You don't know.

Its a conscious decision you have to make. You have to choose to put your trust in God, and in his son, Jesus. It will be the content, particularly, this content, that affects your eternal life. Not just your intents.