Bent, But in Which Way?

Many people spend gobs of energy and globs of resources and blobs of time trying to get in shape or stay in shape or rearrange the shape they’re in. Planet Fitness loves us for that. As do physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons. Sometimes we overdo it and need professional help undoing what we’ve done. We twist and bend, stretch and strain, embracing the pain and hoping for the gain we believe we’re supposed to accomplish to meet our definition of physical fitness. If we’re excessively passionate (read, rabid) about it, we might run the risk of crossing the line between health and harm. We might want to be bent into a certain shape that may not comply with the dictates of our DNA.

We humans are also prone to be bent in other ways besides what’s required physically for certain yoga positions. We get our noses bent out of joint when we are upset with or offended by someone. If we are recklessly determined to do something even if it costs us dearly, we might be dubbed as being hell bent on doing whatever it is we feel we must do. Many decades ago, an intoxicated person was described as bent, perhaps due to the slant in their walk or the sideways slide of their tongue. When we get bent out of shape, we might ask ourselves, in what way are we upset?

Being out of sorts because we ourselves have been inconvenienced or annoyed is one thing. Being bent out of shape because someone else has been mistreated or wronged in some way is another thing. Not that there’s anything amiss with being miffed from time to time if someone jerks our chain, but if our pleasure and comfort is our only concern, we might benefit from an attitude adjustment. We could consider it a realignment of priorities. Or we might think of it as a corrective vision test. Or perhaps we may imagine it as being shaped so that we become a more useful vessel, a more helpful person. Is it possible to be heaven bent?

If we are privileged to have a roof over our heads and food in the refrigerator and pantry with medical care readily available to us, we dare not assume everyone else around us is equally secure. And just because we do not see the struggles of others that doesn’t mean they aren’t real. Community works best when it works for all, not just for a few. We may not welcome being bent in new ways, but until there is truly “liberty and justice for all,” we will neither be a justifiably great nation nor a wholly heaven bent people.