On Watching Your Language

I never used “bad” language around Momma. Expletives were rarely heard in my parents’ home, and never from my mother. I can remember pushing the envelope around my dad a few times, and I remember paying for it, too. Daddy wore a size 32” belt. He wasn’t terribly strict, but he drew a definite line as far as language went. But around Momma we didn’t test the limits. There was no wiggle room. Crude, rude, discourteous language was simply never allowed in her presence. Not because she thought she was born 15 miles from the nearest sin, but because she knew our words would, in part, determine what sort of people we would be. Whenever my tongue dared venture too far, Momma reined me in with this warning, “Watch your language.”

I mention all of that because it's past time we Christians learned to watch our language. I’m not so concerned that we’re using the popular, if crude, words for flatulence, feces and fornication (though that may well be an issue). My unease is over our failure to use first person pronouns properly. I, me, mine, we, us, our are simply killing our conversation. They can be harmful, dangerous, even fatal.

Huh?

Maybe this is not altogether clear, but I want you to help me keep my tongue in check. Help me watch my language. Sometimes I forget who I am. Occasionally I don’t remember where I’m from. Sometimes I can’t seem to recall my family name.

So, when I say “I” it should be in reference to one who follows Jesus. That should also be true when I refer to “me.” Especially help me make sure that when I say “us,” I mean church. When I say “we,” I need to mean God’s people. And when I say “our,” I want always to have in mind “us” because that’s who God wants “me” to be.

If "we" can win the battle for “our” language, and if "we" can remember who "we" are maybe, just maybe God can use “us” to make a difference in His world. There's little chance of that happening until "we" are sure who "we" are -- as well as who "we" are not. Our words form us at least as much as we form them.