Salt in Mouth

Rush Limbaugh has been in hot water lately for his comments about Sandra Fluke.  Now, I'm not a Rush fan, but I am a fan of free speech, which can include, at times, criticizing others.  That's freedom of the press.   However, it wasn't so much an opinion or a criticism that is the issue here, but rather a simple case of "name calling".  Thankfully, Rush is being held accountable for this... however, how often do we do similar and think nothing of it?  

One of my favourite TV characters is Oscar Leroy of Corner Gas fame.  Oscar had a habit of calling, well, pretty much everyone, a jackass.  While that particular phrase would be characterized as a "mild" curse word... it still is a curse word and, is so, because it demeans the other person.  Pretty much all the words/phrases that society considers taboo are words that either degrade a beautiful thing and/or degrade the person the word is directed at.  And a word doesn't have to be an official "swear" to be damaging.  Limbaugh used the word "prostitute", which isn't an offensive word by itself; but he was using it in such a way as to demean and belittle a person. 

So, here's the rub.   The Bible instructs us to watch our mouths and let our speech be seasoned with salt. We need more respectful speech with everyone, including our enemies!  Explosive and abusive language has no valid reason to exist in our world today...however, it seems that the media thinks just the opposite!  TV shows, movies, and music are all pulling us to the potty mouth instead of the salt mouth.  Invectives are now common place on prime time TV, somehow making a show "edgy" or "hip" but, in reality, they are making it like a Jr. High locker room.  My mom always said that a mature person can control his/her tongue.

By the way, many people attempt to enforce the "taking the Lord's name in vain" commandment with this stuff... but any biblical scholar will tell you that it doesn't actually apply here.  The third commandment is more about swearing an oath than curse words.

Would it be too much to ask to have this whole Limbaugh/Fluke issue result in people respecting others with their words?
Is it too much to ask our Parliament to not hurl insults while others are talking?
Is it too much to ask TV/Movies/Music to tone it down? 
Is it too much?  

I actually don't think it is!

Joell

Stiff Necked

I’m stiff necked... well, today anyway.   A couple nights ago I somehow slept wrong and woke up with a twinge in my neck that I knew was going to progress into a full blown case of stiff neckedness (invented word).  When this happens, I have a few options to help me get back to normal; but the most effective thing is being able to stretch those muscles that are in spasm.  By so doing, the muscles will eventually relax, and the pain will subside.  The only real problem is that there are approximately 8 million muscles in the average human neck (OK, it’s more like 18), and the trick is finding a way to move your head that will actually stretch the right muscle.  This leads to odd looks from people as I rotate my head in various odd ways to get that odd muscle to just let it go!

You can always tell when a person has a stiff neck because when he needs to turn to look to either side, he turns his entire body instead of just his head.  It hurts too much so he turns everything...or, better yet, doesn't turn at all.  I can remember driving with a stiff neck and not wanting to do my shoulder check when changing lanes... I just wanted to look forward and not see what was beside me.

If you are leading an ox team, having them be “stiff necked” means you can’t direct them very easily... they just want to go where they want to go. 

When the term “stiff necked” is used in the Bible, it’s not actually talking about a stiff neck... but rather stubbornness.  The kind of bull (or ox) headedness that prevents someone from paying attention to God.  The prophets used the term often in the Old Testament, referring to the stubbornness of the Israelites; and the apostolic martyr Stephen used it in Acts 7:51 saying, ““You stiff-necked people!.....You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”  It’s pretty clear from this usage that being stiff necked isn’t a good thing.  When we ignore the Holy Spirit, we are being spiritually stiff necked.

I couldn’t agree more!   I hate being stiff necked!   Yes, I don’t like the physical kind, but I also don’t like it when I’m stiff necked spiritually.  The Holy Spirit is constantly guiding and directing through His Word, prayer, fellowship, and conviction.  Here’s hoping I can avoid both kinds in the future! 

Joell