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Tuesday, June 4

Who Do Christians Really Worship?

This post is about words and the authority people give to words. Words like the N-word and the F-word. Words like retard and mongoloid. Fat. Ugly. Stupid. Words used to purposely demean and insult and devalue people. And yet, too many people allow these negative, unloving words define them.

This post has been in the making for a while. God knocked. I finally answered. This topic and I have been constant companions, amigos, partners ever since. So, with much reservation and hesitation, here goes nothing or it could end up being something, either way, you might want to hold your nose.

When I write the "F-word", do you mentally say the word? Does the letter "F" and a hyphen transform an offensive cuss word into a more palatable, less offensive word? Does the word magically become socially acceptable? Does the definition change? What about its derivatives such as: freakin', friggin', fen, and so on? Better than the original or just as offensive?  

Does using the letter 'N' and a hyphen seem less racist. less rude and offensive than the word it represents? Is saying or writing 'the N-word' really kinder and gentler? The thought is the same, isn't it? Regardless of the form used, the thought still communicates the same derogatory, injurious insult. Any illusion the hyphen changes everything is just that, an illusion. Or am I mistaken? How many readers, who just read those hyphenated words mentally said the words? 

The current definition for 'the N-word' from Dictionary.com:
1. a black person
2. a member of any dark skinned people
3. person of race regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant.
4. a victim of prejudice as suffered by blacks.

How did a word derived from the Latin "negar" and originally used to describe the color black come to describe and define an entire race and its culture. One word. Millions of people. When did that happen? Who let that happen? Who has the authority to give it so much power? Things that make me go hmmm.  

I have a daughter with Down Syndrome. The school system recently reclassified her from MR (mentally retarded) to CD (cognitively delayed) and yet her IQ is 58. For generations, people like her were labeled "mongoloid" which became "mentally retarded". All of those words communicate she will never be of "normal and average" intelligence. Is "retard" easier to digest than "stupid"? What about "cognitively delayed" vs "monogloid"?. Is one kinder and gentler?

The thing is, anyone can call my daughter "a retard" to which she'll ignore them because that word has no power to define her and has no influence in how she views herself. That word is a paper tiger in her world... powerless. She will tell anyone who will take the time and listen to her that she is "cute, curious, funny, a good hopper, a good juggler, a good speller, a great colorer, a baker, a good 'karate-girl'... I could write ten thousand words how she defines herself - in the most positive of ways using the most positive words.

If a teenage boy insults a young, smart, funny, kind, generous, beautiful teenage girl, why would she allow those words, his words, to define her, especially when she isn't? Why does she take ownership of those words?

The TRUTH: all derogatory words, words that hurt, injure, debase, belittle, and devalue others are lies. They are LIES proffered by the father of lies. Knowing the Truth exposes the lies. If Christians know the Truth, then why do we tend to believe the lie rather than the Truth? 

Satan's lies are powerful only because we believe them. Satan tells horrible debilitating lies to people about themselves. If you let him, Satan will define you, first and foremost, as unworthy of God's love. He says you aren't loved because you are unlovable. He whispers, "God hates you because you stray from Him and stumble and sin. God hates sinners and liars and you are a sinner and a liar." He will even highlight where God says so in the Bible. He will rinse and repeat.  

How many people claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? How many Christians tithe when they sit and listen on Sundays? Attend Bible study. Volunteer. Believe God's Word to be inerrant. And yet, do they really believe God loves them AND forgives them AND hears their prayers? Do they really believe God has good plans for them, plans to give them a future and a hope?

Despite having God's Word and the Truth at their disposal, Christians let the lies live and breathe. They permit the lies to define them despite the Holy Spirit interpreting and intervening on their behalf. The lies live and breathe and grow because Christians feed them. They water them. They nurture them.

Dare I say they love them?

How else do lies dominate the Truth? God tells those who reads His Word they are worthy because He says so. They are worthy of His mercy and forgiveness and love. God says He loves them and will answer their prayers. He will come down to be with them in their time of trouble. He says He will never forsake them. He says He knows them, knows their every thought, knows every hair on their head, and it was Him who knit our bones together while we were in the womb. He has given them a special name only known by Him.

And yet, despite God's Word, the lies grow in strength and number. Why are the bad things easier to believe than the good things? Why do so many choose to believe what Satan says? Is it because so many people, including those who call Jesus Christ their Savior, worship Satan and his lies over God's Word? They must or why would the lies, told by the father of lies, define them and not the Truth. Am I wrong?
Have a good and godly evening. 

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