A Whole New Language

Since coming to the Children’s Ranch, where I work, I am learning a whole new language. Who would have thought that within the same country, that the language could be so different.

All of our boys come from troubled backgrounds. They are street-wise and tough, or so they think. They love trying to teach me their “language” and they love to hear my Tennessee sayings. We have great fun sharing how differently we communicate. Much of their local flavor speech is rooted in gang and street life. I’ve learned that “bumfy in the hood” means comfortable in your surroundings. “Scrap” means friend. “Dolo” means all alone. “Mad” means a lot of or to the extreme, like my truck is mad dirty or I want mad macaroni and cheese. All of this is completely new to me, but knowing their language helps me better understand them. It’s really pretty necessary to know what they are talking about. But now I find myself picking up some of their speech just be being around them so much.

In this world we live in, it’s easy to do the same thing. Given the music, movies, and TV shows we’re constantly exposed to, it’s easy to pick up the world’s language. What used to be considered foul and unacceptable seems to become somehow more benign the more we hear it. Not only foul language, but words of unkindness and words that belittle and discourage seem the norm. It’s so easy to pick up what we hear from others and to absorb the world’s language.

As a Christian, shouldn’t we be learning a whole new language. Shouldn’t our language be different from the world? Doesn’t getting to know Him better and becoming more like Him require a whole new language? Shouldn’t our speech glorify Him, bring hope and healing to others, encourage rather than tear down, and bring light to the darkness? It’s terribly easy to fall into patterns of speech that speak words of cursing, anger, harshness, and unkindness. After all the world would have us think it’s harmless.

This problem was addressed long ago. God knew that in our sinful nature we would have problems with this tongue of ours. He knew that taming it would be almost impossible. In the 6th chapter of James the tongue is referred to as a a fire, a restless evil, and full of deadly poison. Youch! James also says that, “with the tongue we both praise our Lord and curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be”. How many times do we do this? One minute we are praising the Lord and the next speaking evil of someone.

Maybe, just maybe if we were more careful about what goes into our mind, it wouldn’t be so difficult to control what comes out of our mouths. God cautions us through his Word. “Whatever is true, whatever is nobel, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me--put into practice”. Philippians 4: 8-10

Precious Lord, help me fill my mind with only those things that will come out of my mouth as blessings and goodness as I speak to your creation that you loved enough to die for.