The date was October 2nd, 1989. I had just gotten hired by a corporation known as the ‘Town of Lincoln’. It was one of those types of jobs that many guys, and a few girls my age would have loved to have. It would have been considered a ‘lifetime’ job, with good benefits and a decent pension. It consisted of mowing grass , patching holes in the road, digging graves, burying people, sanding and plowing snow in the winter, paving roads in the summer, etc., etc. For a boy raised on a farm, it was the perfect transition to a steady and decent day job. I was one of five men who were hired all at once. One man was named Ron Donia. Another was Ken Smith. Another yet was Cal Loney. The other gentleman that was hired was a man by the name of Larry Astin. The first three men were a delight to work with. Unfortunately, there had to be a fly in the ointment. And that fly’s name was Larry.

Before Larry worked for the Town of Lincoln, he worked for a store called ‘Canadian Tire’. He managed the automotive service department. For some reason or another, he decided it was no longer his cup of tea. Well, Larry’s job working for the Town of Lincoln was a laborer position, just like mine. The one big difference between Larry and I was that I was perfectly happy being a laborer. Larry, on the other hand, was damned and determined he was going to become a foreman in record time. From the minute he started, his goal was to so impress everyone around him with his great knowledge and skill that they would have no choice but to present the job of foreman to him on a silver platter. Basically, even though Larry was a laborer, in his mind he was pure ‘management material’. He was going to rapidly go straight to the top and would step on anybody that got in his way to get there. And as far as he was concerned, I was one of those obstacles that he was going to crush under his feet in the process.

Instead of allowing him to steamroller me, I had to learn how to deal with his overbearing attitude. An old veteran by the name of Doug Medigee gave me a good piece of advice. When Larry would try to ‘Boss’ me around, I just needed to inform him that I didn’t take orders from ‘Red Hats’. This was referring to the red hard hats we would wear while on the job. It distinguished us from management, who wore a ‘White hat’ as the rule. By simply stating this to Larry, and turning my back to him, he would be rendered quite ineffective in his attempt to dominate and control. It worked like a charm.

There are many ‘Red Hats’ in the ‘Christian’ ranks out there. There are more than a few ‘White Hat Imitators’ as well. For the usual reasons, these ‘Christian Corporate Climbers’ love being in authority and love throwing their weight around as though they were someone to be reckoned with. They come in many different shapes and forms. They can be anyone from a ‘Celebrity Radio Pastor’, to a ‘Pope’, or your local ‘Ordained’ minister who speaks with great ‘Eloquence and Authority’ from the hallowed ‘Pulpit’ in front of his adoring congregation. It could even be someone you’ve known for a long time, and trust as a believing friend, but suddenly, out of the blue, they feel the need to tell you how to do your job as a Christian, even though they themselves have never or seldom attempted to do the things you are doing. It were as though they had become annoyed at how your faith was bearing fruit, and one day reached a point where they really no longer wished to hear anything about the peace and joy you are experiencing. They can even go so far as to resent you and question your motives or your methods of reaching out to others,  similar to a prosecuting attorney trying to make you look guilty by assuming the worst about you and trying to prove those assumptions are accurate. The truth in these types of situations is that it really doesn’t matter what they think, because, bottom line, they are only glorified ‘red hats’, and have no place judging us or telling us how we do our job. They really need to learn to ‘mind their own business’. 

If God has given you special gifts, it only makes sense he’ll probably give you special missions and assignments to carry out as well. Just as there are vessels in a household to be used for noble purposes, there are those that may not seem so noble, but are still extremely useful regardless. A toilet may not be a frying pan or a salad bowl,  but no one can say it isn’t important. The one should not look down on the other, nor should the one resent the honored position of the more accomplished and experienced. Isn’t it good enough to be all of use in the same household, by the same master?

So, fellow ‘Red Hats’, let’s try not to focus on what someone else is doing, but focus on doing a good job of your own. 

Guaranteed, the greatest of all ‘White Hats’ is watching, and may feel you have some special gifts which will qualify you to perform tasks above and beyond the abilities of a regular ‘Red Hat’. He has already given us our ‘Work Orders’ for the day, and our jobs are a matter of getting ‘out there’ and ‘doing it’!

By Lucien ‘Looch’ Delean 

March 19, 2025