Love is large and incredibly patient.
Love is gentle and consistently kind to all.
Love is a safe place of shelter.
Love is joyfully celebrating honesty.
Love is always hoping.
Love is believing in the best for everyone.
Love is always believing for success.
Love is always marching forward.
Love is constantly, forever loving.
(From 1 Corinthians 13 - TPT)
I often say to people "Watch your language!" and I'm not referring to cursing or explicit language. I mean, pay attention to how we speak to each other and the specific words we use. Let me give you an example. I once read a job listing in a Christian newsletter for a Christian company. The ad read, "If you're a loser, don't bother calling us." Wow! Just take a second and run that quote through the filter of the "Love is" list above. When I look at this kind of sarcastic language in myself and then I read that list, I realize how much I want to measure up to that list. I want everything I say to come through the filter of that list.
America, we have lost ourselves over the last several years - on both sides of "aisle" and in life in general. Let me give you another example. Families get together at different times throughout the year - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial day and so on. If you observe the typical family for about thirty minutes you will find a pattern. Someone, out of a level of social awkwardness and uncomfortable silence, will bring up a past event for the sake of breaking that silence with laughter. They usually start the sentence with "Hey, remember that time you..." and everyone laughs. Then the next story like that rolls out. Before you know it the entire family is using a language of mockery and self condemnation and digging up stupid and embarrassing things we've done in the past. This can seem so harmless and just meant as simple fun until you run it through that "Love is" filter.
I went into youth ministry in the area where I grew up. Sarcasm is quite literally a language used there constantly. I hadn't lived in the area for years and while it was a familiar "sound" I was taken aback by it. It is almost the only way people know how to relate to each other there. I'll be the first to admit that I love sarcasm and trying to quit sarcasm is harder than trying to quit smoking was - seriously. I love to laugh and sarcasm is the quickest route for me. So, I don't mean to pick on the region and it is certainly not the only region who speaks this language but when you become tuned in to it, it is shocking how little love is ever being exchanged in conversations there. Again, if we run it all through the "Love is" filter, we start to see how desperately we need to "clean up" our language!
The root word for sarcasm is the Greek word, sarkazein which means to literally tear into the flesh of another being. It is used in reference to animals who attack and just start devouring another living animal. Wouch! BUT WAIT! (insert record scratch noise here!) Psalm 37:13 says,
"But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that His day is coming."
Some of you know that while I've been a Trump supporter, I've continually, publicly wrestled with the language he uses to convey his messages. This was his Father's Day tweet:
“Happy Father’s Day to all, including the Radical Left, RINOs, and other Losers of the world. Hopefully, eventually, everyone will come together!”
Aye yai yai! Elijah mocked the prophets of baal saying, "Where are your gods? On vacation? In the bathroom?" But again, let's run President Trump's quote through the love list. Think about what he said and then scroll up and read that list again. Then ask yourself this question,
"Where are we getting with this kind of language?"
I'm not perfect and can be so quick to slip back into this kind of sarcastic language but I think we need to weigh "the Lord laughs at the wicked" with "God is Love." (1 John 4:7-21) I believe God's laughter might be more along the lines of the perspective of a Father watching his little devious, rebellious three year old setting out with a "wicked" plan. I see the Father's arms crossed with a big joyful smile and laughingly saying "Not so fast there sparky!" He knows the victory is already won! So, he laughs from a very different mindset, I believe.
If Trump and all of us were always hoping and believing for the best, believing for success and marching forward, constantly loving and always using the language of this kind of hoping, and believing, and loving - just imagine the power of it! Read the list again and imagine the power of that! What could we change using this kind of language. It's almost as if we've entered a sarcasm contest against each other in the last several years. How will we ever bridge the gap of division without returning to love? That's what the Common Ground Sound Project is all about - returning to love. The next song I'm going to release is the introduction to this concept within the storyline. I can't wait to share it with you. We are in the studio finishing it now. The link will be added to this blog series soon.
I'm going to ask a favor this time: Will you pray with me about this for our country? We've unintentionally allowed this kind of language to take root and become deeply ingrained in our culture - in our families and the family of America and I really feel we should pray into this as believers. Will you read the "Love is" list and ask the Lord to help us in this area? I often use the hashtag #returntolove when I post things regarding this project. Feel free to use that hashtag wherever you like.
LOVE to all,
Jill
Song link coming soon!
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