Everyday I hear people saying things that, when you analyze them, are downright stupid. Many of the people who say these things are fairly intelligent and don't even realize what they are saying. I, myself am guilty of saying such things from time to time. We say many things that are incorrect, but listed here are a few of my pet peeves.
One thing that has become accepted in modern culture is the use of the words sex and gender interchangeably. These two words actually have different meanings. The word sex describes is something is male or female. The word gender is a grammatical term referring to something as masculine or feminine. I have even heard medical doctors using the term gender meaning sex. In our laziness we have shortened our references to sexual intercourse to just the word sex, thus making people scared to utter this three-lettered word. Your sex can actually be one thing while your gender is the opposite. Outside of the family this means nothing, but people in my family can reference the tale about the man who was "so prissy he had to sit down to pee." This person's sex would be male but his gender was feminine.
Probably at the top of my list is when people say, "I could care less" when they actually mean, "I couldn't care less." Saying could in the phrase actually conveys the opposite meaning of it. If you could care less, then you actually could care less about whatever you are speaking of. Many people make this error. Even in his recent hit "Do I" Luke Bryan uses this phrase incorrectly. While I like the song, it irritates me slightly when he says the line, "Seems like you could care less either way."
One thing that I fall into myself more often than I care to admit, is when people make a phone call when the other person answers they automatically say, "yes" and the proceed to tell what they called for. I guess this comes from most businesses when answering a phone tells the company name followed by "may I help you?" However, part of my job is answering phones and I never ask, "may I help you?" but most people still say "yes" after I answer the phone. The person on the other end of the phone could say, "Bell's Home Interiors, may I bash you upside the head with a two by four?" and the other person would probably still say, "Yes, this is John Smith and I need some home interiors."
As I stated above, we all say things that are incorrect. I just think we should all be more cautious in what we are saying. How often have we said things in haste, only to later regret them? Proverbs 18:7 states that "A fools mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul." We should all be more careful before we speak (or type) anything. After reading this many of you may say, "Christopher should have thought more before he wrote some of those blogs." I couldn't agree with you more.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Politics In Church
Today's blog is about a subject that has in recent years become taboo in many of our churches. The subject is politics. It seems before and after services we can speak to our brothers and sisters about sports, family activities, work and a wide variety of other topics, but many will not speak about politics in church - much less from the pulpit.
All of this seems strange to me. I was raised in a small church where I the pastor would preach entire sermons reprimanding President Clinton for his poor moral behavior in office. While not to the level of a "mega-church" I now attend what I consider a large church. This past Sunday I was talking to a man, with whom I have had several political conversations outside of church, when I started to enter something political into the conversation he seemed uneasy attempted to change the subject. When I said what I wanted to he said something about not talking about politics in church.
That is what seems strange to me because politics actually have more to do with church than many other topics. This phenomenon I have observed is mainly in large churches. Large churches have members of both political parties and the church leadership in many cases are scared to offend any of their members because they might move their membership to another church. I, however, think it is high time we as Christians hold our brothers and sisters accountable if they cast their votes for an official who will not represent us on moral issues simply because they are a member of a particular party. It is also time for pastors and church leaders to grow a set of cojones and proclaim the Gospel irrespective of who they offend. After all, the Gospel is "sharper than a two-edged sword" and when proclaimed properly convicts and leads to change. After all, it is completely acceptable to talk about Clemson and Carolina in God's house and there is nothing more divisive in South Carolina than that topic.
In my opinion, today's churches as well as politics have become too diluted with feelings. Many pastors and elected officials walk around scared to death they are going to offend a member or a voter. We need more men of God in the pulpit and in public office who actually have a backbone and will stand firm on the principles on which this country was founded. Who cares if you lose a few members or a few votes, you are ultimately only accountable to One.
All of this seems strange to me. I was raised in a small church where I the pastor would preach entire sermons reprimanding President Clinton for his poor moral behavior in office. While not to the level of a "mega-church" I now attend what I consider a large church. This past Sunday I was talking to a man, with whom I have had several political conversations outside of church, when I started to enter something political into the conversation he seemed uneasy attempted to change the subject. When I said what I wanted to he said something about not talking about politics in church.
That is what seems strange to me because politics actually have more to do with church than many other topics. This phenomenon I have observed is mainly in large churches. Large churches have members of both political parties and the church leadership in many cases are scared to offend any of their members because they might move their membership to another church. I, however, think it is high time we as Christians hold our brothers and sisters accountable if they cast their votes for an official who will not represent us on moral issues simply because they are a member of a particular party. It is also time for pastors and church leaders to grow a set of cojones and proclaim the Gospel irrespective of who they offend. After all, the Gospel is "sharper than a two-edged sword" and when proclaimed properly convicts and leads to change. After all, it is completely acceptable to talk about Clemson and Carolina in God's house and there is nothing more divisive in South Carolina than that topic.
In my opinion, today's churches as well as politics have become too diluted with feelings. Many pastors and elected officials walk around scared to death they are going to offend a member or a voter. We need more men of God in the pulpit and in public office who actually have a backbone and will stand firm on the principles on which this country was founded. Who cares if you lose a few members or a few votes, you are ultimately only accountable to One.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A Southern Accent Is A Sign Of Intelligence
Since Rick Perry threw his had into the Presidential race a couple of weeks ago I have heard a number of "educated" commentators making fun of the way he speaks. Perry, being from Texas, speaks differently than we do in South Carolina, but it is still a Southern accent. I am tired of people prejudging us Southerners by the way we speak. Many people across the nation, when they hear a Southern accent think "ignorant" or "stupid." I would like to make the argument that we Southerners are, in fact, smarter than those from North of the Mason-Dixon line.
In the last 50 years or so, the majority of the men elected to the office of the Presidency have been Southern. LBJ and the Bush's were from Texas, Carter from Georgia and Bill Clinton from Arkansas. Even though Reagan was from California, he lived on the Rancho del Cielo and had more "good ole boy" in him than most. That means that most of the country for the past 50 years have entrusted the governing of this nation the majority of the time to a Southerner.
The South has also contributed such talent as Tennessee Williams and Lewis Grizzard to the world of literature, Forest Whitaker and Reese Witherspoon to the world of acting, and Elvis Presley and B.B. King to the world of music. This is just to name a few. Just think of Dr. King making his "I Have A Dream" speech with a Northern brogue - it just doesn't have the same meaning does it?
One of the reasons I think that we Southerners are so smart is we spend more time and effort on things that actually matter and less on the way we speak. In my opinion, Yankees put way too much effort into the simple act of talking. For instance, my Northern brothers and sisters pronounce the sweet liquid used on pancakes and waffles as "seer-up." How do we Southerners pronounce it - "sirp". That is just one example. Just think how much time and effort we save my dropping the occasional syllable from a word or adding a syllable or two to a word to add emphasis without having to say another whole word.
I would like to change the way people think of people with a Southern accent. A lot of broadcasters from different parts of the country go to school to lose their accent and learn to speak "Standard English" in hopes of making themselves sound more intelligent. I would propose if they really want to sound intelligent they should learn to speak with a Southern accent. On second thought, that is not a good idea. You have to be born with a Southern accent in order to speak it properly. Think about it, most of the time when a Northern actor attempts a Southern accent they sound more mentally handicapped than Southern.
In closing, I would just like to ask my Northern friends to please not judge us by the way we speak. Think of all the contributions we have made to society. Y'all must not hate us too much because y'all fought a war a few years ago to keep us part of your Union. I'll make a deal with you, if you will stop making fun of the way we speak and assume that we are less intelligent, I'll try to do the same for you. After all, we are all Americans.
In the last 50 years or so, the majority of the men elected to the office of the Presidency have been Southern. LBJ and the Bush's were from Texas, Carter from Georgia and Bill Clinton from Arkansas. Even though Reagan was from California, he lived on the Rancho del Cielo and had more "good ole boy" in him than most. That means that most of the country for the past 50 years have entrusted the governing of this nation the majority of the time to a Southerner.
The South has also contributed such talent as Tennessee Williams and Lewis Grizzard to the world of literature, Forest Whitaker and Reese Witherspoon to the world of acting, and Elvis Presley and B.B. King to the world of music. This is just to name a few. Just think of Dr. King making his "I Have A Dream" speech with a Northern brogue - it just doesn't have the same meaning does it?
One of the reasons I think that we Southerners are so smart is we spend more time and effort on things that actually matter and less on the way we speak. In my opinion, Yankees put way too much effort into the simple act of talking. For instance, my Northern brothers and sisters pronounce the sweet liquid used on pancakes and waffles as "seer-up." How do we Southerners pronounce it - "sirp". That is just one example. Just think how much time and effort we save my dropping the occasional syllable from a word or adding a syllable or two to a word to add emphasis without having to say another whole word.
I would like to change the way people think of people with a Southern accent. A lot of broadcasters from different parts of the country go to school to lose their accent and learn to speak "Standard English" in hopes of making themselves sound more intelligent. I would propose if they really want to sound intelligent they should learn to speak with a Southern accent. On second thought, that is not a good idea. You have to be born with a Southern accent in order to speak it properly. Think about it, most of the time when a Northern actor attempts a Southern accent they sound more mentally handicapped than Southern.
In closing, I would just like to ask my Northern friends to please not judge us by the way we speak. Think of all the contributions we have made to society. Y'all must not hate us too much because y'all fought a war a few years ago to keep us part of your Union. I'll make a deal with you, if you will stop making fun of the way we speak and assume that we are less intelligent, I'll try to do the same for you. After all, we are all Americans.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Giving A Tenth
As I write this, I am wearing steel-toed shoes because I am stepping on my own toes. Before you close this page thinking, "Christopher is wanting me to give my money away" please note that I am not talking about just money when I speak of tithing. (Although it has been my experience that the only people who get offended when the subject of monetary tithing arises are those who do not do so.)
It may be hard for some of you to believe that such a good-looking and talented writer as myself is not a millionaire, but at the time of this writing I am not a high-income earner. However, I have never had a problem with giving God the first 10% of the money He has allowed me to manage. I know that God does not need the small amount I am able to place in the offering plate, but it is an exercise in obedience. No matter how little you have if you give the first 10% (as commanded by scripture) back to God you are in essence saying, "God I trust you to provide my needs enough to do as you commanded."
Many of my fellow believers do not have a problem with sharing the monetary assets they have been blessed with, but I wonder how much we "tithe" on our other assets. Many of us seem to be busier than ever before. How many times have we given God what is left over of our time instead of the first 10%?
Our Lord tells us in Matthew 25:36, "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me." In verse 40 He explains, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." It doesn't cost anything to go to a nursing home and visit with some of our seasoned citizens who are spending their last days this side of eternity. How many of us have clothes that we do not wear that we could donate to those who have virtually nothing? Very little time does it take to walk up to a police officer or soldier and say, "Thank you for protecting us."
For years I have had my personal devotion time before I go to bed. In and of itself there is nothing wrong with this, but so many times I fall asleep while praying to the Almighty. I often think of when Jesus said to his disciples when they had fallen asleep in the garden, "could ye not watch with me one hour?" (Matt. 26:40)
Again, this blog posting is more to me than anyone else. Even if we gave all of our money and all of our time to the service of the one and only God, it would not be enough. I think of the words of the song "God With Us" written by Chris Tomlin and performed by MercyMe that says, "Such a tiny offering/ Compared to Calvary/ Nevertheless, we lay it at your feet." The next time we are tempted to give God what is left over of us, let us remember that He gave us His all.
It may be hard for some of you to believe that such a good-looking and talented writer as myself is not a millionaire, but at the time of this writing I am not a high-income earner. However, I have never had a problem with giving God the first 10% of the money He has allowed me to manage. I know that God does not need the small amount I am able to place in the offering plate, but it is an exercise in obedience. No matter how little you have if you give the first 10% (as commanded by scripture) back to God you are in essence saying, "God I trust you to provide my needs enough to do as you commanded."
Many of my fellow believers do not have a problem with sharing the monetary assets they have been blessed with, but I wonder how much we "tithe" on our other assets. Many of us seem to be busier than ever before. How many times have we given God what is left over of our time instead of the first 10%?
Our Lord tells us in Matthew 25:36, "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me." In verse 40 He explains, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." It doesn't cost anything to go to a nursing home and visit with some of our seasoned citizens who are spending their last days this side of eternity. How many of us have clothes that we do not wear that we could donate to those who have virtually nothing? Very little time does it take to walk up to a police officer or soldier and say, "Thank you for protecting us."
For years I have had my personal devotion time before I go to bed. In and of itself there is nothing wrong with this, but so many times I fall asleep while praying to the Almighty. I often think of when Jesus said to his disciples when they had fallen asleep in the garden, "could ye not watch with me one hour?" (Matt. 26:40)
Again, this blog posting is more to me than anyone else. Even if we gave all of our money and all of our time to the service of the one and only God, it would not be enough. I think of the words of the song "God With Us" written by Chris Tomlin and performed by MercyMe that says, "Such a tiny offering/ Compared to Calvary/ Nevertheless, we lay it at your feet." The next time we are tempted to give God what is left over of us, let us remember that He gave us His all.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Hot Summer, Cold Churches
As another weekend approaches, one of the things I look most forward to is the opportunity to worship my Lord and Savior with a group of believers on Sunday morning. I can't say that I have always felt this way. For years I attended a church that was, to be quite honest, dead. The pastor and most of the members seemed to be just going through the motions of playing church instead of having actual worship services. I found myself in a quandary when witnessing to non-believers because I knew that if they visited the church I was attending, they would likely never attend another service. Being in a church that was once a bright shining light but has lost its fire can be a bad experience. To quote those two great theologians, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, "There's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone."
I am happy to report that I am now attending a church who has not lost its fire. Despite the fact that they are currently looking for a senior pastor, the church seems to be growing. Not only the leadership, but the members seem to have a zeal for reaching the community with the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ, often using new and innovative methods. The late Adrian Rogers once said, "The seven last words of churches today might be, we never did it that way before."
That got me to pondering why churches die. I think the pastor has a lot to do with it, but he does not bear all of the responsibility. I am convinced a church cannot die unless a majority of their members have "left [their] first love." (Revelation 2:4) Many members of churches hold their traditions in more high esteem than the souls of the lost.
Please do not misunderstand me, a church should NEVER compromise their principles or the Gospel, but man-made traditions and personal preferences of seasoned citizens may be a turn off to the younger generation. I am not saying that there is not a place for traditional worship. God knows that no church can afford to lose the wisdom of godly men and women who have been walking with Him for many years. The church should follow the leadership of Paul when he said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22) Again, not compromising the gospel but meeting people with that gospel on their own individual levels.
If anyone reading this feels they are attending worship services at a cold church, I would first urge you to do some soul searching to make sure that the fire in your belly is still going strong. You may be one of the reasons the church is so cold. If you are still on fire, then before making a move to another body of believers, always seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It may just be your fire in which that particular church needs to set them on fire again. I can only speak for myself and I am glad that I heeded the guidance of the Holy Spirit to worship at the church I am currently attending. May you have a truly blessed weekend.
I am happy to report that I am now attending a church who has not lost its fire. Despite the fact that they are currently looking for a senior pastor, the church seems to be growing. Not only the leadership, but the members seem to have a zeal for reaching the community with the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ, often using new and innovative methods. The late Adrian Rogers once said, "The seven last words of churches today might be, we never did it that way before."
That got me to pondering why churches die. I think the pastor has a lot to do with it, but he does not bear all of the responsibility. I am convinced a church cannot die unless a majority of their members have "left [their] first love." (Revelation 2:4) Many members of churches hold their traditions in more high esteem than the souls of the lost.
Please do not misunderstand me, a church should NEVER compromise their principles or the Gospel, but man-made traditions and personal preferences of seasoned citizens may be a turn off to the younger generation. I am not saying that there is not a place for traditional worship. God knows that no church can afford to lose the wisdom of godly men and women who have been walking with Him for many years. The church should follow the leadership of Paul when he said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22) Again, not compromising the gospel but meeting people with that gospel on their own individual levels.
If anyone reading this feels they are attending worship services at a cold church, I would first urge you to do some soul searching to make sure that the fire in your belly is still going strong. You may be one of the reasons the church is so cold. If you are still on fire, then before making a move to another body of believers, always seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It may just be your fire in which that particular church needs to set them on fire again. I can only speak for myself and I am glad that I heeded the guidance of the Holy Spirit to worship at the church I am currently attending. May you have a truly blessed weekend.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Bully Crap
In recent years I have observed a new phenomenon. Very seldom does a week go by that I do not see a news story about bullying. With the invention of Facebook and Twitter we now even have "cyber-bullying." Not that bullying is a recent occurrence, but if you listen to the news stories it would appear that bullying is worse than it has ever been.
I don't know why there is all of a sudden such a concern over bullying. It could be that modern parents are so scared that their "babies" will face the slightest discomfort or (God forbid) get their little feelings hurt that they want to stamp out bullying (which, by the way, I would assume has been around since the beginning of time).
While I have not conducted any sort of "scientific" experiment or research, I would assume that most people have been bullied at some point in their lives. If you have never been bullied, chances are that you were the bully. I wrote last week about "thorns in the flesh." It could be that God put bullies in kids lives as a thorn in the flesh to help them grow. If a child never dealt with a bully, how will he grow up to deal with an overbearing boss or a nagging wife?
Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending bullies. I believe that every bully needs a good old fashioned country ice whoopin'. While they are a nuisance, most of the time bullies get what is coming to them. Most of the bullies I had to deal with are in jail. A few, however, have seen the error of their ways and have actually become fine adults.
This posting may sound like I am being cold and heartless, but believe me, I know what it is like to be bullied. I know what it is like to dread going to school during the day and pray for the wrath of God to rain down on the bullies at night. Friedrich Nietzsche put it best when he said, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I also think that it would be beneficial to stop wasting valuable air time with these news stories getting every one's panties in a wad about bullies and how to stop it. After all, how many bullies actually listen to these stories anyway?
I don't know why there is all of a sudden such a concern over bullying. It could be that modern parents are so scared that their "babies" will face the slightest discomfort or (God forbid) get their little feelings hurt that they want to stamp out bullying (which, by the way, I would assume has been around since the beginning of time).
While I have not conducted any sort of "scientific" experiment or research, I would assume that most people have been bullied at some point in their lives. If you have never been bullied, chances are that you were the bully. I wrote last week about "thorns in the flesh." It could be that God put bullies in kids lives as a thorn in the flesh to help them grow. If a child never dealt with a bully, how will he grow up to deal with an overbearing boss or a nagging wife?
Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending bullies. I believe that every bully needs a good old fashioned country ice whoopin'. While they are a nuisance, most of the time bullies get what is coming to them. Most of the bullies I had to deal with are in jail. A few, however, have seen the error of their ways and have actually become fine adults.
This posting may sound like I am being cold and heartless, but believe me, I know what it is like to be bullied. I know what it is like to dread going to school during the day and pray for the wrath of God to rain down on the bullies at night. Friedrich Nietzsche put it best when he said, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I also think that it would be beneficial to stop wasting valuable air time with these news stories getting every one's panties in a wad about bullies and how to stop it. After all, how many bullies actually listen to these stories anyway?
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