I received a moving letter from an inmate in a prison in California who had read my book and wanted to thank me for writing it and keeping it real. He related his lifetime of misery drinking and drugging, fighting police, being incarcerated in various institutions, broken marriages, lost jobs, and misery to the zillionth power. He happened upon my book and was encouraged greatly that he too could break out of the hell in which he lived by putting God first in his life and make something out of himself when he regains his freedom.
I also received an e-mail from a reader who was offended by my use of the word “Jeez”. He wrote: “Perhaps I’m a bit sensitive to the word “Jeez” since I hear it so often used by Christians. I’m sure you need no reminder that the world often uses this word as a way to slander our precious Lord Jesus. It’s one of those “Christian Swear Words” like “Dag nab it”, “To heck with you”, “Shoot, that was good soup” you get the idea. The slang “Jeez” surmounts all the others because it seems to make attacking our Lord “OK” since we aren’t exactly using his name…”
I have been accosted before by the “Jeez police” and it is all I can do to keep from erupting into a molten lava flow of vitriol; however I maintained my composure and replied: “I disagree entirely. “Jeez” can just as easily mean “Gee whiz” and in fact does to me. People carry this kind of thing too far in my opinion. If Christians become word police virtually anything anyone might say could be construed as being something bad. It is a modern-day-Pharisee approach to life. It is difficult enough to encourage people to follow Christ without putting “impossible demands” upon ordinary struggling people. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but then again so am I… If the worst thing someone does is say “shoot”, “dag nab it” or “dang” to me, I think they are doing pretty ‘darn’ good.”
People are hurting in this world. I’ve seen people violently die before my eyes; I’ve been all alone and slept on the side of the road and under bridges; I’ve been cold, penniless, and hungry; I’ve beaten people within an inch of their lives and been beaten within an inch of mine; I’ve been desperate; I’ve been severely addicted to methamphetamine and heroin and I’ve been racked with pain as I withdrew from it; I’ve been a slave to alcohol, gotten DUI’s and crashed cars while drunk as a skunk; I’ve stuck a .357 magnum in more than one face and pounded heads with the butt of it; both my grandfather and beloved brother committed suicide and I’ve put a gun to my head more than once with the same intent; I’ve been too broke to pay my electric bill and had a car repossessed.
And now someone is telling me not to say “Dag nab it”????? “Shoot that was good soup”????? “To heck with you”????
Jeez, how about instead I beat him within an inch of his life with a tire iron until he says “calf rope” and surrenders.
Now some of you may think that we should yield to Scripture that instructs us not to do anything that causes a brother to stumble. 1 Cor. 8:13 “So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live–for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble”. I wonder if this applies? I mean it seems to me that this guy would see naked women in a Rorschach inkblot test. Some Christians can make a sin out of eating apple pie; where should we draw the line?
Too many Christians try to impose incredibly harsh laws on Christians and try to put everyone on a guilt trip. Jesus was criticized for walking through the corn fields with His disciples and picking and eating some corn on the Sabbath because they were hungry. In essence He told them to get a life that He was “Lord of the Sabbath” and He desired mercy and not condemnation.
I cannot speak for Jesus but I doubt seriously if He would admonish someone for using the expression: “Shoot that was good chicken soup”, or that He thinks the contraction “Jeez” is an attack on Him. I don’t think it bothers Him unduly to hear “dag nab it”, or “Holy buckets”, “Holy smoke”, or the like . I once knew a man that would yell, “Mations” everytime he missed a quail on the rise. Now I wonder what evil that conjures up in anyone’s mind out there.
After I wrote this person he wrote me back and told me he was going to read my book.
Whoa Nellie!
HELLO!!!
Now that’s funny…
Matt. 12: 7
“If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”