I experienced a situation today that completely opened my eyes up to how careful we must be with our words. In having a conversation with a person I have not talked to in quite some time, a phrase was said that means something not good in our society, however this person meant it in an entirely different way. Counter-culture. A couple things happened in this conversation: I was angry that a person such as this would choose such an awful [at least how I perceive] way to describe the thing in question, and second - that as a Christian, our entire lives are counter-cultural.
In a way, I suppose I could have not been surprised at the wording. Christians are counter-cultural because the culture is desperately pulling us one way and we are running the opposite direction, doing our best to hold on to what is true while the world tries to pull us down. [Sidenote: this reminds me of a beautiful skit done to Lifehouse's Everything. I'll post it in this blog - just because it is so beautiful - and while it can pertain to words as well - it's focus is the world pulling at you and Jesus fighting for you.]
Anyways, I was honestly appalled by what was said and horrified that it was used to describe the thing in which was being described, but this person made a point. Words have been twisted from what they originally meant to how the culture you are residing in has made them to mean. And not just in a single word, but in entire phrases as well. I think Tim McGraw makes a good point in his song "Back When".
This person made a bold statement - I may not agree with it, but that's what it was -bold. In doing this, I believe this person was trying to fight back against how society has corrupted our language and I realized that this is exactly why we must be careful with what we say. As Christians we need to think of our time here on earth as if we were visiting a foreign country. Most of us don't travel to a foreign country being 100% fluent in that language or culture. That simple fact may lead to many problems. You may go into a foreign country, equipped with a generic language-to-language dictionary and attempt to say something that would be completely innocent where you live...but guess what? You can't use a dictionary to properly form sentences or even to fully know what every word means in regards to its culture or society. Something as simple as a thumbs up, which can mean "I understand", "cool", "good to go", "approval", in America means something entirely different (and obscene) in Australlia, Iran, Iraq, and Thailand. While your intentions were innocent, you just damaged an opportunity to build a relationship. Just as I would be completely foreign in any of the above countries according to the world's standards, I am completely foreign to the world - this is something we need to always remember. As Chrsitians we are NOTW - Not Of This World - we are foreigners on this earth, which means that our words mean something different than the worlds. But, does that mean we should just not care and say what we want because we know we have innocent intentions? Absolutely not. If we use phrases that were once innocent and have now been corrupted we risk our witness. We risk being credible as children of God; we risk turning people even farther away than they may or may not already be. The tongue is an incredible thing - and we must learn how to tame it and how to speak to people in a fallen world that may not be world-friendly. At the same time, we must make sure that what is said doesn't confuse them based off of their definition differing from ours.
So please, guard your tongue. The devil is thirsting for a slip up; he's thirsting for you to say something that will contradict your witness; he's waiting eagerly for your words to damage any and every possible relationship you may have so he can snatch them up and tear them away from their Maker. Your words matter.
In a way, I suppose I could have not been surprised at the wording. Christians are counter-cultural because the culture is desperately pulling us one way and we are running the opposite direction, doing our best to hold on to what is true while the world tries to pull us down. [Sidenote: this reminds me of a beautiful skit done to Lifehouse's Everything. I'll post it in this blog - just because it is so beautiful - and while it can pertain to words as well - it's focus is the world pulling at you and Jesus fighting for you.]
Anyways, I was honestly appalled by what was said and horrified that it was used to describe the thing in which was being described, but this person made a point. Words have been twisted from what they originally meant to how the culture you are residing in has made them to mean. And not just in a single word, but in entire phrases as well. I think Tim McGraw makes a good point in his song "Back When".
We got too complicated
It's all way over-rated
I like the old and out-dated
Way of life
Back when a hoe was a hoe
Coke was a coke
And crack's what you were doing
When you were cracking jokes
Back when a screw was a screw
The wind was all that blew
And when you said I'm down with that
Well it meant you had the flu
I miss back when...
It's all way over-rated
I like the old and out-dated
Way of life
Back when a hoe was a hoe
Coke was a coke
And crack's what you were doing
When you were cracking jokes
Back when a screw was a screw
The wind was all that blew
And when you said I'm down with that
Well it meant you had the flu
I miss back when...
This person made a bold statement - I may not agree with it, but that's what it was -bold. In doing this, I believe this person was trying to fight back against how society has corrupted our language and I realized that this is exactly why we must be careful with what we say. As Christians we need to think of our time here on earth as if we were visiting a foreign country. Most of us don't travel to a foreign country being 100% fluent in that language or culture. That simple fact may lead to many problems. You may go into a foreign country, equipped with a generic language-to-language dictionary and attempt to say something that would be completely innocent where you live...but guess what? You can't use a dictionary to properly form sentences or even to fully know what every word means in regards to its culture or society. Something as simple as a thumbs up, which can mean "I understand", "cool", "good to go", "approval", in America means something entirely different (and obscene) in Australlia, Iran, Iraq, and Thailand. While your intentions were innocent, you just damaged an opportunity to build a relationship. Just as I would be completely foreign in any of the above countries according to the world's standards, I am completely foreign to the world - this is something we need to always remember. As Chrsitians we are NOTW - Not Of This World - we are foreigners on this earth, which means that our words mean something different than the worlds. But, does that mean we should just not care and say what we want because we know we have innocent intentions? Absolutely not. If we use phrases that were once innocent and have now been corrupted we risk our witness. We risk being credible as children of God; we risk turning people even farther away than they may or may not already be. The tongue is an incredible thing - and we must learn how to tame it and how to speak to people in a fallen world that may not be world-friendly. At the same time, we must make sure that what is said doesn't confuse them based off of their definition differing from ours.
So please, guard your tongue. The devil is thirsting for a slip up; he's thirsting for you to say something that will contradict your witness; he's waiting eagerly for your words to damage any and every possible relationship you may have so he can snatch them up and tear them away from their Maker. Your words matter.
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