On The Hot Seat

It couldn’t be as bad as everyone made it out to be. Kids would sit on the hot seat, the camp leader would push a little button switch, and Zap! The kid would be jumping and screaming, flying off the hot seat, while everyone else would be laughing and enjoying the fun. It was a simple stool, with a six-volt battery attached under the seat. Wires went up to a metal screen on top of the seat, covered by a pretty piece of fabric. Seemed harmless to me. So why the shock, the screams, the writhing pain? Come to find out the six-volt battery was attached to a Model-T voltage booster.

I got the bright idea that one of us should give it a try. Those of us who worked on the camp staff seldom got to join in the fun and the activities. We watched from a distance when we had opportunity. But this hot seat really caught our attention. We all dared each other to sit on the seat after lunch one day, after everyone had left the dining hall. No one was willing. So I decided to be brave and try it. I really thought it couldn’t be all that bad. Everyone was just playing along with the gag, I concluded, to thrill the crowd. But just in case, I decided that I would push the button, not one of my buddies. That way I could make it short and sweet. I wasn’t going to let them fry my back side.

We took a break from washing dishes to test my bravado. I sat on the seat, held the button in my hand, and everyone counted down. Three! Two! One! Zaaaaaappppppp! I couldn’t let go of the button. I was soaking wet from doing dishes, and the button had a short in it which had been mini-zapping the leader. The current went through me in a continuous circuit. My hand was frozen stiff and I couldn’t let go of the button. I couldn’t even scream. I just sat there and winced in pain. And fried! And all my buddies stood there laughing and screaming in delight. They didn’t know I was in trouble.

I figured the only thing I could do was lean over and fall off the stool. I don’t know how I had the presence of mind to figure that out, but it worked. Thud. I landed on the stage floor, probably looking white as a ghost. Then they all came running to see if was electrocuted. After they figured out what had happened they started laughing again, even harder.

I felt pretty foolish. Worse than a guinea pig. Duped and hoodwinked. Yes I had agreed to do it, but I had let myself get talked into it.

That’s how it is when we get deceived. Duped and hoodwinked by our adversary, Satan, and all his minions. If we didn’t have enough evil to contend with, standing against our own fleshly desires and the world’s influence upon us. But we have yet another deceptive, crafty voice trying to get us to trip up, step over the edge, push the button. And without realizing it, we take the bait, and we put ourselves in grave danger. Pain, disgrace, embarrassment, and shame.

We must beware of the darts of the evil one. Darts that he shoots into our mind. Flaming darts. We must extinguish them, taking every though captive to the obedience of Christ. We must put on the whole armor of God. And pray in the Spirit. Then stand firm. Stand strong. (See Ephesians 6)

Oh, and one more thing. Get some buddies around you that you can trust to keep you off the hot seat.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” ( II Corinthians 10:4-5)