May 3, 2022 – Click here to listen
So yesterday I got several marital tips. Most readers seemed to sympathize with my wife after yesterday’s post and felt I treated her shabbily and suggested I should apologize for my boorish behavior.
Hmmm . . . I was thinking that she should have apologized to me for ruining my dream and additionally should have thanked me for waking her up while she was having a nightmare.
Actually, both of us thought it was humorous and those who took it to be a serious matter should know better. We have been married for 51 years and she is well acquainted with my quirky sense of humor. She understands me better than most anyone aside from Jesus. One of the reasons that our relationship has endured is because we can laugh.
I believe that our country has gone haywire. People are so easily offended that it is near impossible to say anything without offending someone. We are living in a politically correct environment. Some examples of where we are going wrong according to experts in this field are as follows:
Black person > Person of Color
Black sheep > pariah
Blackboard > chalkboard
Blacklisted > banned
Blind drunk > very drunk
Boring > differently interesting
Broken home > dysfunctional family
Brother / sister > sibling
Christmas > Winter Festival / Winterval
Clumsy > uniquely coordinated
Dead > passed away / terminally unavailable
Fat > overweight / big-boned
Forefathers > ancestors / forebears
Homeless > residentially flexible
Homosexual > same-sex
Husband / wife > spouse / significant other/ partner
Illegal alien / illegal > undocumented worker
Job losses > restructuring
Junkie > person with a drug dependency
Man in the street > average person
Man up > be brave
Manhole > maintenance hole
Mankind > humankind
Man-made > synthetic
Merry Christmas > Happy Holidays
Nut > person with a mental health condition
Prison cell > custody suite
Prostitute > sex worker
Short > vertically challenged
Steward / stewardess > flight attendant
Taxman > tax officer
To lie > to misspeak / be economical with the truth
Ugly > unconventional-looking
Unemployed > involuntarily leisured
Wrong > differently logical
Egad! What’s next?
One of my twin grandchildren was just a tiny little thing and she called her sister an “idiot” one day. The other went crying to her mama and told her that her sister called her an idiot. When quizzed by her mother as to where she heard that word, she told her that she heard papaw say it.
Uh oh . . . I suppose some of this discussion has its place. “Little pictures have big eyes” is an apt description of little impressionable kids; kids are always watching and we influence them more than we know. This is true not just for to kids but especially for non-believers. Sometimes it is difficult for others to laugh and are very sensitive. I suppose we must be extra careful when speaking with them. As for me, I might be a little old for major changes, but I sure don’t need to be teaching a child terms like idiot.
As with most things it can swing too far to the right and left. I refuse to call my wife my partner, but I do love her dearly. I suppose this little prayer might help: Lord help me to separate the destructive from the good-natured laughter. Please help me to be like You to the extent possible.
Matt. 5:16
Let your light so shine before men that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.