Today I was driving out by Millerton Lake (for you locals - I've never been out there before today) and I was reminded of something from my childhood. Below you'll see some snapshots taken with my phone.
I was in the 4th grade and I was riding in the back of a small toyota pickup truck with a shell over the bed. Mr. Becker was driving and my friends and I were sliding around as we took the curves... we loved it. Eric Becker and his younger brother Kevin were alot of fun to hang out with. This particular day we were headed up to Lake Cuyamaca for a day of fishing (well, at least Mr. Becker intended to fish).
As we neared the lake, Eric and I saw signs for the Dam at the same time. We looked at each other and then we both giggled. Then we proceeded to figure out every way that we could say the word "Dam" with out saying "Damn". We'd say things like "Dam on the lake", but we'd say "on the" really fast and quiet so it sounded more like "Damn lake".
Eric said "Dam!" followed by a lengthy pause and a pointed finger and then said "...over there."
Then I'd say something like "Dam, it..." followed by an equally comical pause "...s over there, see it?". - only a slight variation of Eric's brilliance.
I heard once or twice that when Jesus called Herod a "Fox" in Luke 13 that it would be comparable to us calling someone a jerk, a clown or a jackass (or jack#$% if you prefer) - what do you think of that? Have you ever heard anything like that?
Growing up, I wasn't allowed to use words like "piss" or "crap" (or the word "Fart", but that's a WHOLE other story) and at one point there was discussion about whether or not I was allowed to use a word like "geeze" because it sounded too much like I really wanted to say "Jesus". sheesh.
I think it may suprise people to learn that the King James version of the bible can get a bit crude. Forget about "piss" the Kings English went straight to "pisseth". Earlier version of the bible used "ass" and "bastard" - not too mention several examples of asses and bastards throughout the good book.
What do you think about cussing or cursing or whatever you call it? Do you think it's ok for a Christian to use "swear words"?
2 comments:
#$%&* NO!!!!!
But seriously, I think the Bible is fairly clear in Colossians 3:7-8 "In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth." I say fairly clear because it doesn't define "obscene talk". I say f--k, sh-t, a--hole, h-ll, dam--t... is that obscene? I'm tired of the heavy shame that some Christians heap on people because they cuss. I remember my first time in youth group: I said "What the hell?" in reference to some ridiculous thing my friend was doing. His reaction (and everybody else's around) was one of shock and saying to me "You can't say that in here!" How embarrassing for me.
On the flip side, I'm a little tired of the cool cussing Christian vibe going on right now. It makes me want to be a puritan. What purpose does cussing serve in your life - making you look cool, postmodern, and relevant; or is it really an honest expression of yourself.
Colossians talks about a NEW LIFE we can walk in through salvation in Jesus Christ. We ought to be different then we were. Being different should be fulfilled by His Spirit within us forming us and making us new; not by the guilty shame of the laws we think we should obey. There's nothing wrong or evil about cussing, but it might not be very beneficial to you, or those you mean to love.
I think when Jesus cussed it was true, and it was an honest expression of how he really felt. Not to mention He was God.
Language is a strong tool for what? Articulation, Communication. So to the cusser I would probably ask, "What are you communicating? What are you trying to get across?" And typically our cussing is an attempt to pad the ego or promote a self-image that we've decided for our own. I would say, if you're going to use bad language, let it be an expression of truth, of passion for truth, or for exposing a reality that is ugly and therefore requires ugly words in order to be captured. But when we apply these harsh words to our ford that won't start or the step that keeps bloodying our big toe- then we diminish the power of such words all together. Swearing as an action or habit isn't cool- but not because it is in itself inherantly bad- but because it fails as means of self-definition.
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