Using
one word, describe this picture?
For
me, that word is Irony.
Consider...
The
Wordnet dictionary says...
1.
(5) sarcasm, irony, satire, caustic remark -- (witty language used to
convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his
opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire
is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover
everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift)
2.
(3) irony -- (incongruity between what might be expected and what
actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she
most hated")
3. irony
-- (a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and
what occurs)
You
would expect that a fire hydrant would be used to put out a fire, not
be put on fire, so the meaning that is highlighted in blue is my
choice. This picture also reminds me of my chemistry teacher in high
school. Why? Well, after I started my class in chemistry, it wasn’t
long before my teacher (whose name was Mr. Osterhout) called me aside
and told me I was not going to pass this course and that I should
drop it before I received a failing grade. I did. But that was not
the end of the story, only the beginning. A few years later, I
started working in a chemical laboratory and over the next few
decades, actually worked in bench chemistry for seven different
companies; receiving multiple promotions and achievement awards.
Irony; a word that I know only too well.
Jesus
used irony in his teaching – here is but one example…
Mark
8 ( World English
Bible )
Mar 8:34, He called the multitude to himself with his disciples,
and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and
whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News
will save it.
Mar 8:36, For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and
forfeit his life?
Mar 8:37, For what will a man give in exchange for his life?
Mar 8:38, For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed
of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels.”
Every
single day we make choices, small ones, large ones, those that are
important and those that are not. But, Jesus present us with an
ironic choice; choose him and follow the spiritual way he dictates or
deny him for the things that seem important in everyday life. If you
chose Jesus, ultimately it could cost you your earthly life, but you
gain eternity in heaven. Chose the things that the world favors, deny
Jesus and at the eternal judgment face hell. I chose Jesus, how about
you?
Humm,
that burning fire hydrant takes on a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?