Words, words, words

With many other people around the country I have been wondering what has happened to civility. It seems that in the last month or so people in all sorts of walks of life have forgotten what it means to speak to others with respect and dignity – outbursts at town hall meetings, outbursts in Congress, threats on a tennis court, rude interruptions on an award show stage. Each was an individual occurrence, but is the clustering of these events a sign of something larger going on in our culture?

Preachers around the country who use the lectionary were bubbling over with excitement at these news reports. OK, maybe that’s an over-statement. Rarely do we celebrate rudeness and disrespect. However, the epistle lessons assigned toward the middle of September, when all of this was going on, came from the book of James. Here are a few verses my colleagues were wrestling with in their sermon preparation:

“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on first, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6, NIV)

The warnings are strong about the power of words and the mouths that say them. In a Children’s Sermon I recently talked about the old adage children have been taught for generations, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We decided together that this is not true. Words can hurt. Words matter! The words we choose to say, when we choose to say them, and the tone with which they are spoken MATTER.

Back to my first question – are the recent “newsworthy” events a sign of a larger problem in our culture? Well, I don’t know. I think it’s too soon to tell. I think the outrage of the public about these events is a good sign. It tells us this sort of behavior and treatment of one another is still shocking and considered unacceptable to many. I also think that, if nothing else, these have been a wake-up call to many, and a reminder to Christians of our call to treat others with respect and dignity. James puts it this way:

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10, NIV)

It should not be. All human beings have been made in the image of God, and all human beings deserve to be treated in such a way. This does not mean there can’t be debate, discussion, and disagreement. This does not mean there can’t be protest. It does mean, however, that our disagreement should happen in a way that honors the humanity of our partners in conversation, their creation in the image of God.

The words we speak matter. They matter to those to whom they are directed. They matter to those who overhear them for they speak volumes about what we believe. They matter to God. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Ps. 19:14, NRSV)

Joining the Blog Conversation

For those who are new to blog reading and commenting, or those who are new to the Blogger format, here are instructions for leaving a comment. Happy posting!

To post on the blog you need to use (if you already have one) or create a Google account. You don’t need to have a gmail account; you just need to sign up whatever e-mail account you have as a Google account which will let you use all their different free stuff, like the calendar or Google groups, etc. If you already use any of those things, than you just need to use the same log-in you use for those, to log in and leave a comment on the blog.

So, I’ll assume you DON’T have a Google account for these instructions. You won’t have to do all of this after the first time you comment. Once you’ve got the Google account it’s very simple.

1. Look at the bottom of the post on which you want to comment. Click on the words that say “0 comments” or whatever number is there.

2. You will see just that post there again. Scroll down to the end where you will find a comment box. Type your comment in there.

3. From the drop down menu labeled “Comment as:” with “Select Profile” in the box, select Google Account. Then click “Post Comment.”

4. Now you will be taken to a sign-in page (you will not lose your comment). In the smaller of the two blue boxes at the right side of the page, click “Create an account now.” That will take you to another page. You can use any e-mail account to do this. You are not creating a whole new e-mail account, just a way to be signed in to comment on the blog.

5. Follow the directions for creating a Google account. When you are finished, it will take you back to your comment.

6. Enter the word verification which proves you are a real person and not a computer spamming the blog with unwanted comment, then click “Post Comment”. You’re done!

Anytime after this (or if you already have a Google account), you won’t have to go through all of that. You can either sign in with the e-mail address you provided and the password you created as soon as you get to the blog with the “Sign in” button in the very top right hand corner, or you can sign in at the prompt when you hit “Post Comment” after typing your comment.