July 27, 2008

So here's the scene: you are at the shopping mall, walking from one store to another. In the breezeway are more “mall rats” than you knew were in this time-zone. As the first group approaches, you hear language that would embarrass a sailor. As you go past them to another group you encounter more language that would have made your mother wash your mouth out with soap. You frown and hurry toward your destination.

On your way you encounter teenagers and young adults, at least you assume they are by their appearance. You can't tell by their language because it is no more refined than their younger counterparts. Again, you frown and hurry toward your destination.

Next it's a middle aged person at the customer service desk. Apparently they are trying to look sound younger. They drop a few “F-bombs” and generally foul the auditory air as you pass. It's no wonder the younger population's vocabulary averages 4 letters per word. That is what they have been taught. You even detect a stench from the language of a few of our senior citizens before you run screaming to the sanctuary of your automobile with your purchases.

Several cities and businesses have instituted no-smoking policies. What about no-cursing policies? I would like the air that I hear to be as clean as the air that I breathe. It's not okay. Now I'm not promoting a return to scarlet letters and Puritan dress codes. I just want a little bit of freedom. I would like to have the freedom not to hear language that I find crude and vulgar.

Great Brad, how are we going to do that? If I knew that I would have written a book and my tithe would more than cover our electricity bill for the year. I know that acting like “the Church Lady” on Saturday Night Live (a “holier than thou” character) does nothing but harm the credibility of Christians. Reporting offensive behavior to security or business management or the occasional confrontation (e.g. “Can we clean up the language a bit?”) may be in order. My dad used to say, “Your right to swing your fist stops at my nose.” Does your right to curse stop at my eardrums?

God bless,

Pastor Brad