Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“When Words are More than Enough…or Just Wrong!”

“…the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions….” – Proverbs 10:6b (NLT)

In a recent article from the Los Angeles Time, columnist Rene Lynch wrote:

“Do you need to reach for the dictionary to double-check the definition of "F-Bomb" and "sexting"? Probably not. But now you could if you wanted to. The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has added "F-Bomb" and "sexting" to its list of new dictionary entries for 2012 along with the likes of "mash-up," "aha moment," "cloud computing" and "earworm." (An earworm is a song or tune you just can't get out of your head.) The dictionary's editors pride themselves on monitoring the evolution of language, and the creative new terms that seemingly overnight become part of the lexicon.
"Some of the new words this year provide colorful images," Merriam-Webster Editor at Large Peter Sokolowski said in a statement posted online. "Terms like 'man cave,' 'underwater' (when used to describe mortgages), 'earworm,' and 'bucket list' paint vivid pictures in your mind. They show that English-speakers can be very creative as they describe the world around them."

I found the statement “…that English-speakers can be very creative as they describe the world around them” to be both enlightening and disturbing. Enlightening in that we are constantly reinventing the American language and notice I said American and not English. We Americans departed from true English language a loooong time ago and these constant changes (or creative-additions) to the dictionary is just further proof of how far we have deviated.
Now here’s the disturbing part. That we have to create a word to describe a word that should not be used in the first place tells me we have lost respect not only for our language but for morals in general.
For those who may not be “in-the-know” an “f-bomb” is a euphemism for what I believe to be one of the most offensive words in our language—and I hope that I don’t have to spell it out because I do not plan to nor would I anyway. This word gets far too much air-time, both in music and movies and in recent years has been heard coming out of the mouths of those high in political office. I must disagree with Ms. Lynch here about us being “creative” – instead, I think as a people (or culture) we’ve become lazy and we’ve lost respect for what is proper and right.
It is obvious that the use of “colorful” language has been around for a long time. Paul, to the Ephesians wrote: “Let no unwholesome (perverse-KJV) talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful in building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29, emphasis mine)
Jesus as well dealt with this issue as well: “But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Matthew 5:22)
For Jesus (and Paul for that matter), anything which degraded a person’s character was (and still is) an affront to God who created us in His likeness. I believe the same holds true for the person using this kind of language. Every word spoken carelessly, especially when used intentionally rips out a piece of one’s character—and after an extended period of time what is there left?
Don’t degrade yourself or others by using any word or words that do little but destroy and put down. Good rule of thumb…if you can’t say anything nice…well, you know the rest.
Pastor J. T. Carnell