Good Morning!
On this day in 1553 fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as Queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. Mary, the daughter of King Henry VIII, was proclaimed Queen.
In 1909 the first unassisted triple play in major-league baseball was made by Cleveland Indians shortstop Neal Ball in a game against Boston.
In 1942 German U-boats were withdrawn from positions off the U.S. Atlantic coast due to effective American anti-submarine countermeasures.
In 1974 the House Judiciary Committee recommended that U.S. President Richard Nixon should stand trial in the Senate for any of the five impeachment charges against him.
And in 1985 George Bell won first place in a biggest feet contest with a shoe size of 28-1/2. Bell, at age 26, stood 7 feet 10 inches tall.
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Quote of the Day
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln
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Today is Mike Day’s birthday. So Everybodyduck! 🙂
From CJAandPhaleneStudios
And it’s Brian May’s too. From QueenVEVO
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Wandering Views 
Good morning everyone.
It’s a nice, cool, rainy day in Hendersonville.
62.5 degrees with drizzle.
We need the rain.’ And I need to work inside anyhow.
So, all is well in Hendersonville.
I hope it is with you.
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Chas, that sounds like your Saturday is just like mine.
However, it cleared this evening and the stars are out. That means it will be quite cold.
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It is raining in Georgia and it feels like it’s raining all over the world. Someone wrote a song about a night like this day in Georgia (Rainy Night in Georgia).
I drove in to the office while husband started reading aloud a new book, Friend Me, which is suspense written by a former missionary.
I’ve got the David and Jonathan craft activity figured out for tomorrow. We will make arrows out of paper. I have some legal size white paper that can be tightly rolled up to make a stick and then they can fold paper to make the arrow and also to make the feathery part at the end, clipping that part to look fringed. It will all be taped together. Then we can do target type throws with the arrows to play act the sign that Jonathan gave to David concerning Saul. One of the crafts in the curriculum book was to make paper airplanes and use them to hit targets. I think arrows will be better to make.
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okay, Janice, I am just going to tell you our Bible lesson a week ahead and you can come up with the craft. Of course we have Bible 3 to 5 times a week, but I can always use good ideas.
We begin in two weeks with days 1 -3 of creation.
And aren’t we glad that the fisherman takes his camera fishing?!
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Good Saturday to all. Since others are reporting the weather, I’ll say that ours has been more like Spring this week. But tomorrow it turns warmer, with Monday and Tuesday being summer-like 90s for highs. Ugh.
Oh, well. At least for much of my summer job I am in a 52-56° climate giving cave tours.
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Here it’s dry (predicted rains keep missing us or just giving light sprinkles) but it has been unseasonably cool, with one day only reaching the high sixties. (Mostly high seventies, though.) We’ve had a good chance to do some things we can’t usually do in July, such as burn the felled tree and the paper, and clean out the garage gutter. And we’ve also been able to sit on the deck a lot. (Last summer we got deck furniture on clearance, but it was late in the season and we had few chances to use it.)
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Rain this morning, but sunshine is now peaking through. We are hoping to bring our grandson to a lighthouse, so I hope it has really passed. OTOH, I cannot take the heat we are supposed to have.
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I do like that cute turtle picture. It reminded me of the turtles I have seen in ponds at Calloway Gardens. They are so relaxing to watch. Did anyone else have the tiny pet turtles when they were available to buy in stores like Woolworth’s, etc. I thought it was neat that our mother would give us a bit of raw ground hamburger meat to feed the little turtle. He would gobble it up. They stopped selling the turtles because of salmonella. Perhaps the bacteria was from the hamburger meat the turtles were fed…not really, but the two combined was probably making some children sick if they did not wash their hands after handling either.
Jo, I found a creation activity online that we used this past year. It involved a cube with each face depicting a different day of creation. The children could draw or select magazine pictures to glue onto the cube for each day. Then when complete the cube could be used for a game, maybe rolling the cube and seeing what day was face up, and then letting the children call out what was created on that day. Which child would be faster than the other children in naming what was created each day? Or you could make up another game. I think I had to be out on the day the craft was done, but I had put the activity together for the other teachers.
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My sister and I had those little turtles. She got salmonella poisoning 😦 One would manage to escape and we always found it in my dad’s shoe in his closet at the other side of the house 🙂
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Jealous, and headed out to water soon.
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Believe me, I would be more than glad to funnel water across country.
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Mystery of the day:
Did Kim go to pick up BG?
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It’s been more humid than usual here, but this week was better, back to our usual dry, high 70s, 80ish degree days.
We don’t typically get summer rain (I remember the big thunder storms during summer visits in Iowa, watching the clouds roll fiercely across the sky before it all let loose — whee).
We are desperate for water. We now have water police who will fine you $500 if you’re watering on the wrong day (we’re now on an odd-even system) or if you’re just wasting water like hosing down your driveway. Neighbors have been known to turn in neighbors.
My front yard can attest to the fact that I’m stringently abiding by the water limitations. 😦 And my Jeep also is quite dirty now, I really should hit a car wash sometime this week when I’m off. The downside of buying a dark blue car.
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Kare, how are things in the not-quite-yet peaceable kingdom? I posted on yesterday’s daily thread about the process I used to acclimate my dogs to Annie. I knew we were over the hump when they stopped being “focused” on her, on where she was, etc. When they looked disinterested in her when she was in the same room, I knew we’d crossed over into safer territory.
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Thanks Donna, that was sort of our plan: keep the cats in the shop for two weeks, so they would know it was home and safe and the dog could get used to knowing they were in there. But Karl is a big strong cat and was able to push his way out the huge sliding doors (and back in) so he has met Keva and Keva has chased him. If Karl stood his ground I’m sure Keva would back off as he is a timid dog. We haven’t seen either cat for 2 days, but their food is being eaten (and not by other animals) and they’re already killing mice (and the squirrels have been very quiet the last 2 days) so…. I guess we just hope for the best now.
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It’ll probably work out fine. Karl will be boring “old news” to Keva after another week or two hopefully. We did have an older cat (Nancy) when I was growing up who was chased periodically by our ragamuffin dog who never got bored with the game. They’d reach the back fence of our very long backyard, though, and Nancy would turn around and give the dog the evil eye, which always worked to back him off.
We figured it was the only exercise she got, so not entirely a bad thing since no one ever got hurt.
Peter, those cave temperatures sound perfect on a hot summer day. 🙂 Better than a-c. Although there are the bats …
I’m always surprised by the “back-to-school” ads that start popping up around this time (I still remember my shock and despair as a kid when my mom took me downtown and I saw a window display of back-to-school clothes. I was enjoying the summer SO much and I really had no idea we were anywhere close to that time! This can’t be, say it ain’t so! I think I moped for days after that.)
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When I was a kid, I always hated those “back to school” ads.
I’ll bet Peter does.
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Funny to think back on it, but I looked forward to shopping for a few clothes for back to school. My mom made most of my clothes so it was a real treat to get something from a store. I still love shopping for clothes, at least if I can find things that fit. I enjoy the colors, textures, and design.
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Bosley again got under the dining room tablecloth last night. The roaming lump is a hoot. And the top of the refrigerator is a great perch for her to watch me wash dishes. She daily is helping to clear the clutter off my refrigerator as she knocks magnets off. People don’t even know all the tricks indoor cats offer to the housekeeping challenged. She has a decorating style all her own. Amazing how things get rearranged.
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The tablecloth trick sounds hilarious, Janice. Cats can be so much fun, such strange and entertaining creatures. God smiled when he made them.
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Can someone give me a brief primer on Instagram?
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Kim has wandered off to Meridien MS to meet BG As usual I am early but I gave myself extra time because of the weather. Nothing like driving two lane state highways with twists and turns in a downpour
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Hi all. Popping in and out with a quick question. I don’t know if I’ll be able to check back at all today or tomorrow, but if any of you have input on this, I’d love to read it when I can.
Is swearing or cursing a sin? I’d always been taught it was, that it violates the commandment against misusing the Lord’s name. That’s what Martin Luther taught, anyway, but his words are not inspired scripture. Anyone have any thoughts or verses to share regarding the use of cuss words (that may not necessarily use the Lord’s name in vain) that would point to its sinfulness?
I ask all that because I came across a reprint of someone’s Facebook page (whom I don’t know) who describes her journey away from legalism and says this about herself: “I use bad words sometimes. As in swearing. Lately I have been using them more.”
Her placement of that particular statement in a list of ways she has changed in leaving behind legalism is quite odd at best, and could be very misleading at worst. To me, legalism is calling something a sin that God does not declare a sin. But I believe that cursing/swearing is a sin, and I don’t think I’m alone in that belief. It’s not legalism to declare something a sin when God Himself says it is. Am I missing something? Here is the link where she is quoted: http://visionarywomanhood.com/no-more-fake-part-two/
Note especially in the comment section the remark by Jeannette Paulson and the blog owner’s (Natalie’s) response. Like Jeannette, I was tripped up by that “swearing statement”. I think she brings up good questions in that comment, and I’m inclined to comment, as well, but I wanted to search the scriptures myself, which I have done some this morning, though I’d like to do more study on it. I value your input, as there are many more spiritually mature Christians here than I am, and I wish to seek wise counsel on the matter before saying anything over there.
(It is recommended also that a person read Part One of that series, too, which I did. You will find the link for that early in the second part which I linked to.)
Thanks much.
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I’ve been a Christian a long, long time and swearing was never part of my life before or after. When the awful language would begin in the newsroom in college (and the cigarette smoke), I’d ignore it and I didn’t join in.
All these years later, however, horrible words come into my brain and sometimes sneak out of my lips. I then confess the sin of swearing.
It could be a sign of the times–foul language everywhere–except I don’t go to the movies much, don’t watch television, avoid books full of ugly language and the kids around me are polite. Even my personal sailor has never had a salty tongue.
So, I don’t think it honors God if we use foul language, no matter the context, no matter how enlightened your faith, or desire to be part of the world, may be.
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Instagram–you take the photos, click on update and it’s up. I think you can edit, too. Not sure if you can import other shots.
I’ve got like six photos posted. I use it to keep track of my traveling relatives and try not to be envious. My handle, of course, is my name. Look me up and then, you, too can see all the exotic places my glamorous nieces visit! 🙂
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6 Arrows, there are basically two kinds of “bad words.” Well, more than two if you want to separate bathroom humor, sexual humor, and misusing of the Lord’s name or other sacred things. But generally I see it as misuse of the sacred and “other bad words.” Misuse of God’s name and flippant use of the sacred is, I believe, a sin. But sometimes we even take that concept too far. Is it really, for example, a sin to joke about Paul getting writer’s cramp when he wrote all those long sentences? I don’t think it is. But yes, some people act as though any joke about something in the Bible is automatically irreverent.
Bad words other than misuse of the sacred can also be subdivided a bit. There is at least one place in Scripture that talks about “coarse jesting” being bad . . . so obviously some sorts of “dirty jokes” are out of line. But does that mean anything approaching sexual humor or bathroom humor is inappropriate? Again, I really don’t think so. I think much of it depends on context. For example, sexual jokes between a husband and wife, or light joking at a bridal shower, or mothers of toddlers swapping potty-training humor, all of those seem well within the bounds of propriety. A sexual double entendre from the pulpit is out of line. (Although I have seen a pastor make an accidental double entendre and everyone in the congregation worked really hard not to laugh.)
As for “bad words” that fall into the potty talk / sexual talk category: that’s simply a cultural thing, which ones are considered offensive and which are not. Look at some of the language Paul used in the Bible, for example. He uses the word “dung”; he alludes to emasculation. The King James and Living Bible both have some fairly “earthy” translations in the Old Testament, and there are passages in Ezekiel you definitely wouldn’t want to read aloud in church. I don’t think use of such terms are sin (or not “automatically” sin, anyway–if you are using them in order to offend your mother, they might be); I think they are culturally offensive in some contexts. I had a professor in college who liked the word “crap” because it was the strongest word she’d been allowed to use as a child. I wouldn’t have been allowed to say that, nor was I allowed to say “gosh” or “heck” or “gee.” In fact, when other children were telling teachers they needed to “go pee pee,” we were puzzling our teachers by telling them we needed to “go pot” (which I assume was short for “potty,” but “pot” is the only way any of us remembers saying it). But is “bottom” somehow more holy than “butt,” or “pot” less wicked than “pee”?
I don’t like to hear the f-word as an adjective, and I really have never used bad language; it isn’t a temptation of mine. I think it can often be offensive, and “offense” is often its point. But just as it’s culturally crass to wipe your face on your sleeve instead of a napkin, but it isn’t a sin, I think language often works the same way. I’m not going to start to add bad language to my vocabulary, but I think there are definitely bigger things to be concerned about.
Oh, and I think it was C. S. Lewis who pointed out that he thinks the reason humans tell jokes about bodily functions like elimination and sex is that we are in a “strange” part of creation, basically half angel (spirit) and half animal (body). The spiritual side finds humor in our bodily side, because it partly feels like a mismatch, like a centaur that is half one thing and half another. Whether that is an accurate reason or not, I find it an interesting one. And indeed, old people who are often the most polite people do often end up spending a lot of time talking about physical issues, sometimes including the personal ones. (A friend of mine at her 50th birthday received a card that said something like “Another year older, another year smarter, another year more experienced,” And then, inside, “Another year closer to telling perfect strangers about your bowel movements!”)
So some of it is right and wrong (like misuse of Christ’s name), but some of it is just (in some contexts) bad manners.
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Michelle and I cross-posted with very different answers. Anyone else? 🙂
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James 5:
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Matt. 5:34
“But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne.
35 Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shall …………..
37 But let your communication be Yea, yea, Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
My English professor at USC said that cursing revealed a poor vocabulary. Yes and no do not need modifiers.
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I have my Baby Girl back! Now I am the passenger at 70 mph as she drives is 140 miles home. 😉
I have had a potty mouth in the past. Mostly in private. I agree with Chas though that it is a sign of poor vocabulary
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Interesting links, 6 arrows. Some of it I agree with, some of it not as much, but it’s thought-provoking and I can kind of hear where she’s coming from.
I think we are to watch how we speak — an occasional word slipping out in a moment of panic, anger (it’s own sin, of course), freeway angst or pain, happens. Using offensive language as a matter of course, however, is another thing altogether and I think should never characterize Christian behavior. We should be careful with our speech.
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Safe backseat driving, Kim. 😉 Is your brake foot getting a workout?
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🙂 Donna, brake foot workout.
Someone who worked closely with me at the front desk during tax season asked, “Don’t you ever use curse words?” I was happy that she asked. I told her yes, several years back I let out the “s” word when my son was trying to turn the water off or on at the meter and he stuck his hand down in the thing and felt something and it appeared there was a black widow spider in there. It was a few hours of panic, watching and waiting to determine if he had been bitten. To me, that was worthy of the”s” word, but I still felt ashamed and obviously remember my saying it.
When I was younger, before becoming a Christian, I went through a few phases of trying out the words I heard other students using. It never felt right so I did not make it a habit.
As for it being sin, of course taking God’s name in vain is. Then, when the curse words spew out in a fit of anger, I think a lot of anger is sinful. I can’t remember where in the Bible that anger is spoken of as sinful, but if we are told to praise and be thankful at all times, you sure can’t be giving thanks at the same time you are cursing.
I currently work with someone who out of habit uses many curse words. Recently I have thought of mentioning that she gets the prize for being the person that has spoken more curse words in my presence than any other in my life. I just wonder if that is how she wants to be remembered. I have really pondered how to address this issue.
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Thank you for all your responses. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
A verse came to me as I was standing at the kitchen table making apple crisp while listening to a Mozart’s Greatest Hits CD. (Just a little irrelevant background information to set the scene.) 😉
Anyway, I will be the lady with questions today. I thought of Matthew 12:36, which reads, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
Made me wonder what constitutes an “idle word.” Are curse words included in that category? If not, what are?
To look at a little broader context, the verses immediately before and after say:
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things…
36 [quoted above]
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
To me, it sounds like idle words are sin, because the Word tells us we will have to give an account, which I’ve always understood to mean “give an account for sin.” When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it’s not to give an account about everything about us, the good, the bad, and the ugly, is it? We’d be there an awfully long time if we did, wouldn’t we (depending on how good our memories were)? 😉
Was that irreverent? 🙂 Just kidding. I wouldn’t have written it if I thought it was.
Ahem. Anyway…in all seriousness, I do have to wonder how “idle” is defined in this context. At the very least, even if words like the “a-word” (except when it refers to a donkey), the “b-word”, (when not referring to a female dog), the “f-word”, the “s-word”, etc. are not considered “idle” words, scripturally speaking, the context of this passage distinguishes between a good man and an evil man. If we claim to be Christians but are speaking just like the world, are we misrepresenting Christ? Are we failing to “abstain from all appearance of evil”, as 1 Thessalonians 5:22 commands, if we pattern our speech after that of the world?
There’s some more food for thought for you. Now back to the kitchen for round 2 of dessert-making. 🙂
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6 Arrows, I agree with what others have written here about swear words. I personally avoid using the ‘f’ and ‘s’ words, because they are rude, unnecessary and I find they get stuck in my head when other people use them; but I don’t consider them swearing or cursing.
Swearing is, technically, using oaths to emphasize the truth of what you are saying, therefore it really is not necessary for everyday conversation, and as in the fable of the boy who cried wolf, using oaths lightly causes one’s words not to be taken seriously. The only time I see the need to swear an oath is if I am testifying in a legal setting. As Chas quoted, let your yes be yes and your no be no.
Cursing is calling down hurt or punishment on someone or something and should not be used lightly. I have cursed, but not in public and for the same reason Paul did when he called certain teachings damnable heresy. To paraphrase a quote of C.S. Lewis, certain things should be damned to hell. I try never to assign the phrase to a person, as James warned about blessing God and cursing men – but heretical teaching and evil ideas do seem to call for strong language sometimes.
Now, taking God’s name in vain – I recently gained a new perspective on that in a discussion of false teachers. Generally, we think of taking God’s name in vain when someone swears a flippant oath and there is that aspect. But there is a much more serious way of taking God’s name in vain. We see examples of it in the Bible: Saul sacrificing to God, claiming it was in obedience, when it really was disobedience; Uzziah usurping the priest’s role to worship God; Jeroboam claiming the golden calves he made were the God who brought Israel out of Egypt – all of them distorted God and His words. Those who claim to be Christians but live in open, shameless sin take God’s name in vain; those who are hypocrites take God’s name in vain; those who claim to be teachers of the Bible but preach heresies such as legalism or Gnosticism take God’s name in vain. Many who proudly say they have never sworn an oath, have taken God’s name in vain in far more destructive ways.
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We are safely home. Ran into more bad weather so I finished getting us home.
Having confessed of a potty mouth I do believe that saying “oh sugar” or fudge or heck or darn or any watered down version of the original word is just as bad because it is the intent or feelings in your heart Mostly I used the A word. I spend a lot of time on the road by myself and there are literally THOUSANDS of dumb-a’s and jacka’s out there whose sole purpose in life is to pull out in front if my big RED truck and irritate me
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Oh. My baby got teary eyed as we crossed the state line. My baby is a homebody for the most part. She was almost home. She could shower in her shower. She could sleep in her bed.
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Did you know that it’s a tradition among some to sing The Iowa Corn Song when one passes into the borders of Iowa?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQlbtxihKmg
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Well it’s been a very overcast and cool day here today — with even a smattering of rain as I was driving home from shopping. Temps never got higher than the mid-70s. And the rain was wonderful, but far to little of it, of course. 😦
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Donna- I married an Iowa farm girl and as far as I know, I have never heard of the Iowa Corn Song. So the dozens of times we’ve crossed the border we haven’t sung it. I’ll have to ask my MIL if she knows it.
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6 Arrows, the question of what will other people think of me, and am I being a good witness is trotted out a lot . . . but I really don’t think that unbelievers decide to become Christians because some Christian never says the s word or has never smoked or drunk a beer.
A much, much better question is what does God tell us about something. I know people who abstain from alcohol partly because of what unbelievers will think . . . but if we have the power to decide whether or not someone goes to heaven (we don’t), who knows how many people are thinking, I’d consider that Christianity thing, but honestly, the thought of never having another beer, and of needing to feel guilty if I use the s word? I don’t get it. These people seem pretty uptight to me.
But the long and the short of it is that the Bible uses much stronger language than the words most of us avoid using. And there’s simply nothing in Scripture that says it’s a sin to express disappointment or pain with a word that shows dismay, as far as I know. Avoid misuse of God’s name, yes (though I’m with Roscuro that there are actually much more serious ways to take God’s name in vain), but having to check with the Protestant priest to make sure it’s OK to say “Shucks” if you hit your finger with the hammer or to call a serial adulterer a “jerk” seems like overkill. (Re “shucks” and the like–how is it somehow more holy to use made-up words? Is “ow” even innately more holy than stronger words?)
Yeah, anger can be expressed sinfully. And God’s name can be misused. But much of what we consider “sin” in terms of speech is actually just not parlor language. It isn’t “nice” and we Christians tend to work really hard to be nice. It might be showing a language deficiency in using it, or it might (in some contexts) simply be prudishness to avoid using it. My family’s unclear communication when we children needed to be excused to use the restroom being one such example. We are physical beings with physical needs, and that is how God made us.
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You have to raise and wave your hands on the verse that talks about the tall corn. 🙂
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What part of Iowa is your wife from, Peter?
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Kim, those rude drivers according to my husband are either turkeys or bozos. Husband claims he has a bozo detector that finds them all when he drives.
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I had forgotten about turkeys and bozos. Good terms
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We’re home!!! I’ve hardly slept (not sure why–guess I was just keyed up from traveling) and I have to drive Lindsey to Lake Charles at noon. It’s a five hour round trip, so prayers for safe travels would be appreciated!
We had a fabulous time in our vacation.
Loved reading the discussion here today. Having been somewhat of a wild child before my conversion at 26, I still struggle with using foul language. It is easy for it to become a habit and pop out when under stress. My youngest is the bad word police and calls me on every questionable word–from crap to butt. I rarely use anything saltier in front of my children, but when with old friends, I tend to “curse” more. I do repent of this, though I suppose I do it more because my parents told me it was wrong than having any scriptural knowledge. I so appreciate Roscuro’s thoughtful (as usual) response. And, Cheryl, I concur with your thoughts on the subject.
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Welcome back Annms. Back to the topic of cursing,I was thinking also of Jesus’ words in Matthew (15:11), “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
What we say reflects where our heart is. Harsh words, whether actual curse words or not, usually reveal an angry, critical and contentious spirit. They reveal in us an attitude that is not pleasing to God.
If we find ourselves even thinking in words that perhaps we wouldn’t utter in public, it’s a good time to check what’s really going on inside of us and to examine our fellowship with God and our neighbor.
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Annie gave me a scare last night, I usually call her in (if she’s out) before I go to bed and she’s ALWAYS on the front porch. Last night she was nowhere to be found.
It’s happened before, though, and typically she’ll wake me with a claw on the screen an hour or so after the lights go out. But she never did turn up last night. When I got up to let the dogs out at 5:30 a.m., I check the porch — still no Annie.
I was sure something had happened to her. But when I called out for her in the backyard, she was there and came trotting in, ready for food. Maybe she was on the porch at one point and I didn’t wake up, but she really had me going there — I even glanced out in the street to make sure she wasn’t lying there having been hit. 😦
She got some cat treats after breakfast this morning.
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Our sermon was done by a guest pastor. He spoke on Philippians 4 where Paul says to rejoice always; again, I say rejoice. The pastor said it is a command. He said that Paul knew people would bring up excuses as to why they can’t rejoice so he said it again so no one would have time to say, “But Lord, I can’t rejoice because such and such happened.
When I used the “s” word with the water meter experience, I felt badly because it was wrong to do that as an example to my son. In times of trouble people need to call upon the Lord for help.
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Ree,
I sent thru your post. The SPAM filter grabbed it. Any post with more than 2 links is automatically grabbed. If you have more than 2, best to do 2 posts so it doesn’t hang up and interrupt the flow of the back and forth. It actually did the same thing to Cheryl the other day during the conversation you two were/are having. 🙂
And sometimes, the SPAM filter goes rogue and just randomly selects a victim for no reason. 😯
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Our sermon was on God the Father (in our pastor’s absence, we’re also having different men in the pulpit, today it was one of our elders who thought he’d embark on a sermon series on the Trinity because, well, what could be so hard about that? 😉 )
I stopped in at Office Depot on the way home to pick up a few things (ooh, how fun to cruise the back-to-school aisles!) and ran into a dog park friend of man years who now has her own pet store on the Westside in LA. But she used to be a cable tv network producer so she still gets invites to all the big screenings and sometimes premieres, she said if she gets one for Unbroken she’d make sure to try to get me in. 🙂
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Thank you for your further input on the questions I asked yesterday afternoon (2:56 pm). I appreciate the discussion, and I do want to make clear, since legalism has been brought up as part of the conversation, that I completely agree that we (and that includes *me*) need to beware of the danger of legalistic thinking.
Having said that, I don’t want to challenge anyone, but in the spirit of sincere inquiry, I’m really interested to know how you interpret Matthew 12:36, which I quoted last night, but no one said anything about: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
What do you believe “idle words” are, and do you believe as I do, that whatever they are, they are sin?
I don’t mean to sound pushy, but my thinking on this issue has really been challenged (which is a good thing, when it drives us to scripture to see whether what we’ve been taught and believed is actually true), and I’m interested to know what others have gleaned from that particular passage and its context.
Thank you once again.
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On a lighter note:
I didn’t have a chance to read the whole thread until now. Janice, I laughed out loud at the reference to turkeys and bozos! Something about that word bozo (which my husband has used in the past, but that I’d forgotten about, as it’s been a long time) makes me burst out laughing every time. 🙂 And this about killed me: “Husband claims he has a bozo detector that finds them all when he drives.” LOL! 😀
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I’d never heard of the Iowa Corn Song. Cute video of the little girl in the car seat singing it!
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Commentaries may help 6 arrows. With idle meaning “without purpose or effect; pointless,” I’d think it would refer to words that aren’t seasoned with grace, that don’t in some way extend God’s grace to others. I’ve seen it translated also as “careless.”
Our words have the power to either build up and comfort or encourage others — or they can spread discouragement and discomfort. I’ve been convicted of this at times in our discouraging word situation. Conversations in the lunch room or with fellow employees out on assignment can quickly turn to “woe is us.” And I’ve been guilty of spreading that attitude at times, joining in with the complaining & murmuring. Sometimes maybe the best we can do is keep quiet (be slow to speak)!
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Thanks, Donna. Good thoughts (just above and elsewhere on this thread).
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6 Arrows, I probably have a blind spot about “idle words.” I can see them in other people and situations, and maybe don’t notice them so much in myself. I can give examples of idle words such as what I have seen on a lot of late night talk shows, some of the entertainment type magazines and news stories, church pastors who dilute the scriptures to tickle the ears of the unknowledgable, coarse joking, gossip, sarcasm, words spoken carelessly in fits of rage, words that for whatever reason try to steal the glory of God (prideful remarks boasting in one’s accomplishment as if God had nothing to do with it), words of trickery and deceit spoken to lead people astray or make fun of someone’s ignorance, habitual use of off color language, racial and cultural slurs, speculalations and arguments about things in the Bible when we are not given enough information to know exactly what God meant (when arguing with people to try to convince them one’s way of thinking is best rather than allowing God to reserve some of His plans as divine mysteries), dwelling on discussions of evil deeds instead of praying, general unproductive put-downs of people which are actually put-downs of God for people are made in His image, etc.
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Those are a lot of good things to think about, Janice. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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While I was on my internet hiatus earlier this summer, I got reacquainted with my local library and found a book I really enjoyed reading. It is entitled Alice’s Piano, and is the biography of Alice Herz-Sommer, a pianist who was sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Hers was a powerful story of not only the horrors of the camp (it was not an extermination camp, though), but also of her ability to see the good in even the direst of circumstances, and the blessing and beauty that music can bring to one’s life. She was the oldest Holocaust survivor at the time of her death earlier this year at the age of 110.
There is information about her here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Herz-Sommer but I think many of you here who enjoy history (especially the history of the Second World War in Europe) and classical music (particularly piano or the music of Czechoslovakian composers — I have been inspired now to listen to a lot of music lately by Dvorak, Smetana and others) would get a lot out of reading the book.
Her strongly optimistic attitude throughout her life, though, would, I believe, serve as an inspiration to many, whether or not one is particularly drawn to reading about history or music-making. I highly recommend this book.
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Janice pretty much nailed it in her comment about idle words.
I was also thinking about the concept of conscience, & the scripture that says that what is not of faith is sin. Perhaps “bad words” fall into that category. IOW, a new Christian may refrain from the coarser words, but let out a lesser “bad word”, not thinking it’s bad (until or unless the Holy Spirit convicts him of it), especially if it’s something they’ve heard often spoken casually. I think many do not consider the expression “p___ed off” to be swearing anymore.
As for the replacement words such as gosh, darn, heck, etc., our culture considers those words to be harmless, & they probably represent quite an improvement for someone trying to stop saying the coarser versions. It was mentioned above by someone that “bad words” are a cultural thing, so, if our culture doesn’t see them as bad maybe they’re not anymore? Again, a person may not be sinning in using such words unless or until the Holy Spirit convicts them.
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There is a bad word that perfectly describes a type of person (including someone I know), & for the life of me, I can’t think of a more appropriate word. The word I’m thinking of refers to someone who is figuratively full of bull poop (a “bullpooper”), someone who lies through their teeth, & lies big, often making themselves seem like a big shot. What is another, appropriate, word for that kind of person, that still expresses the much of the brunt of the bad word?
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Donna- Does Kalona, Iowa, sound familiar?
I just had a thought concerning the discussion: If idle words are wrong, does that include some of what we type here?
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Karen
A narcissistic sociopath?
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And now for a moment of transparency:
I was just outside, maneuvering a wheelbarrow, trying to get it to go in the direction I wanted it to go, but I was on crushed rock, and it wasn’t going as smoothly as it could have been, when I knocked one handle into the side of my knee.
And one of those — ahem — words, which we’ve been discussing, slipped out, sort of under my breath, sort of out loud. In front of my six-year-old, too.
Just being real with you guys…
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6 Arrows – Happens to me, too, more times than I’d like to admit. 😦
Kim – 🙂
Peter – I’m sure there have been a few idle words thrown around here, & especially in some of the hotter debates on the WMB.
I suppose some would think some of our occasional silliness is merely idle words, but I think of the silliness as a way of making each other laugh, which is a good thing.
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6 Arrows, on the “idle words” question: A few quick thoughts (it is late here):
1. I have never considered that verse, “Every idle word…” quite in the light it is being discussed. I have always thought it a form of hyperbole, to be taken as “Every word you speak, even the careless ones, you will have to account for in that day.”
2. In the context of that passage, Jesus is talking to the scribes and Pharisees. They just tried to discredit and discount Him by saying He got His power from Satan. He warns them that to reject His deity, by denying He cast out devils by the Holy Spirit, is rejecting eternal salvation. Then He talks about them being judged by their words.
3. We know from what Christ and the apostles said, that verbal confession of Christ is a sign of salvation. “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) And we know those who trust in Christ’s finished work will not have any of their sins, including wrong words, cast up into their account, for His blood covers them all.
So, I would conclude that when Jesus says, “By your words, you will be justified; and by your words, you will be condemned.”, He is warning the scribes and the Pharisees that their mocking, even flippant, rejection of Him will have eternal significance when the judgement comes after death.
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Words: I would safe profanity is self explanatory and unacceptable and obscenities go under the heading of coarse talk, which we are told to stay away from. No time to look it up.
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Not familiar with Kalona IA — I’ll look it up though! 🙂
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Oh! It’s the “Quilt Capitol of the World.” Wow
http://www.cityofkalona.org
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Back to the verse (Matt 12:36), here’s what the William Hendriksen commentary says:
“Every man remains fully responsible for what he is, thinks, speaks and does, for though it is true that he cannot change his own heart, it is also true that with strength given to him by God he is able to flee to him who renews hearts and lives. The Lord is ever willing and eager to give whatever he demands of men. If men to not receive it, this is their fault not God’s …
“Now if even for every ‘careless’ word — according to the original mere ‘talk’ that does no (useful) work and is therefore ineffective in producing any good result — men shall render an account on the day of the final judgment, shall they not be called upon to give a satisfactory reason for their false, hurtful, blasphemous words, such as those recorded in 12:24? …”
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Good evening, Jo. I hope you had a good day. How are the quints adjusting to PNG? Is there a playground where they can get some energy used up to help provide some indoor quier times?
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This place sure does get rowdy late at night.
😆
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I know the next thread has started, and probably no one will notice, but…
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I got #75!!!
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Wow, Peter, I am so impressed.
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🙂 It looks like I got 75, instead.
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