Greetings again bloggers!
Ever read a scripture and just get absolutely kicked in the pants? I just did!
Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and bulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Yeah, not going to lie, I'm bad at this one. I like to make crude jokes. I like to laugh with the boys. I like to fit in at the parties. I swear when I stub my toe. I sometimes swear over significantly less important things. I watch shows like Futurama and Family Guy. I am a horrible human being.
And if you want to talk about a hypocrite, I am first in line brotha! When the kids walk into the church on a Wednesday night, and they have a bit of gutter mouth going, I turn all kinds of Mrs. Brady on them! I will tell kids that they shouldn't use such words, as in the very same words I used that morning when that guy cut me off in traffic. They shouldn't talk about such inappropriate things, such as the ones that were on the TV show I'm so in love with the other night. I tell them not to do the very thing that I am most often guilty of!
Is it me, or is it that telling students (and myself for that matter) that "swearing is bad, don't do it" just isn't getting the job done? I can tell myself that from now until the end of time, and until it's replaced by something else, I don't think it will ever truly take hold. And I'm not talking about replacing the F-Bomb with the word "Freakin" or any other Christian swear words. I'm talking about replacing it with something wholesome and good.
Paul writes that instead of these vulgar words we should let there be thanksgiving. What if we worked on replacing our destructive language with thanks and praise? What if even in the most upsetting situations we were able to find the positives and build people up? What if instead of trying just to get through the day without saying a word we wouldn't want our mother's to hear, we let our lights shine, illuminating the world instead of hiding from it?
I know I have something to work on. Because the truth of the matter is you can tell the kids what the Bible says or why they shouldn't say those words for days and weeks and months and years, but if you haven't learned the lesson yourself, if you're not living it, they'll never change their ways.
Hows about 5:21-33 for tomorrow. Feminists and Fundamentalists beware!
Godspeed,
J
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