Relentlessly superficial

by chuckofish

When I was growing up I never heard bad language. It was not allowed in our house and, of course, it was never heard in movies or on television. Gentlemen did not swear in the presence of ladies. (Can you imagine?) Truly, I had hardly ever heard a four-letter word until I went to college. It was all downhill from there.

The world has changed in the intervening years. Vulgarity and bad language are literally everywhere. We are bombarded with f-bombs. Only in our own homes and in church can we escape the verbal onslaught. (But, yes, I do watch a few R-rated films.)

I confess I try and fail every day not to swear. I have trained myself to say “Oh my gosh,” for the benefit of my grandchildren, but we all know that is a euphemism for the terribly overused “Oh my God.” And there is no getting around the fact that that is taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Here are John Piper’s thoughts on cussing. I love the term he uses–“relentlessly superficial”–it is a perfect description of the world we live in. Well, I agree with what he says and I pray I can give up “corrupting talk and speak grace to others.”

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

–Ephesians 5:4

By the way, the Piper article is adapted from the new book, Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life’s Most Important Questions by Tony Reinke, who summarizes and organizes ten years of the most insightful episodes of their popular podcast into accessible, thematic sections. I have ordered the book and eagerly await diving in.

And I had to laugh with Anne at this: “I guess I do have one bonus thought. I was transfixed yesterday by those pictures of Victoria Nuland going around—the sort of ‘How It Started’ and ‘How It’s Going’ meme. As a younger person, Nuland looked fresh-faced and eager. Now that she’s resigned, after decades of work in the American government, she looks bitter and angry. It’s not that she’s aged, of course we all do, it’s that the traces of compromise and entitlement are etched into her face. She, in the spirit of the age, rose to the top of power, determined to get what she could along the way, under the guise that if only women could rule, the world would be covered with peace and security. What a lie that was. Turns out women are human, just the same as men, which means that they do bad things, that they believe bad ideas, that their bodies are full of sinful frailty and age, and that if you lie enough, eventually you sound stupid.”

Enjoy your Thursday!

P.S. Even Ned Flanders lost it on at least one occasion.

As Mark Twain said, “under certain circumstances, profanity provides relief denied even to prayer.”