WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: The God Bless You Lady

      I've heard it said that anytime somebody says "Bless his heart" about someone else, a criticism is likely to follow. As in- "Bless his heart, he works harder than any other player on the baseball team, but he still can't hit the broad side of a barn with a boat paddle". Or "Bless her heart, she tries so hard, but her cooking could make a billy goat puke". That sorta thing. Truth be known, I like it when people say "Bless his/her heart" and a compliment follows instead. 

     Along those lines, I think there's a bit of an issue with the whole "God bless you" thing as well. Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing for one human being to say to another human being- but only if they really mean it. Take, for example, when someone sneezes. One individual in the near proximity of the germ-infested sneeze might say to another individual, even a stranger, "God bless you". Does that person truly hope that the God of the universe will bless that person, or are they just saying something polite in response to a sneeze? Who knows.

     One of my basketball coaching friends was at a high school prospect tournament with lots of other college coaches a few years back. They were all sitting near each other in the stands when suddenly and without warning, one of the coaches sneezed. My friend, ever the polite gentleman and a fine Christian man, said sincerely- "God bless you". A fellow coach who- get this- was from an institution founded by a particular church denomination, chastised my friend with a wry smile and said- "I think it would be better and more appropriate if you just said 'Bless you'". 

     Really? Leave God out of it? Is that what it's come to? Political correctness- Ugghh. 

     I'm glad my manager friend in one of the local grocery stores where my wife and I frequently shop doesn't care too much about political correctness. We call her the "God bless you Lady" because she "God blesses" every customer she comes in contact with, whether you're coming in the door or checking out at the register. And to demonstrate that she's not all talk and no action, she will go out of her way to help you find what you're looking for and even produce a coupon to help you save some money if there's one available. At first I didn't know how to take the God Bless You Lady, but over time I have come to enjoy our conversations about how the Lord is blessing our lives. She's busy but never distracted from being salt and light to others. 

     The God Bless You Lady brings to mind Matthew 5:13-16, which reminds us that as Christians, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are called in those verses to let our light shine before others, so they can see the light of the Father in us. 

     I asked one of the workers at the grocery store one day about the God Bless You Lady. He assured me she was a wonderful person who loved others and was popular among all the rest of the staff because she let her light shine at all times to everyone, not just paying customers. "In fact," he said, "she recently won an award as the top manager in our region, and we were all excited and happy for her."

     I've decided I like the God Bless You Lady. I wish more people were like her. And I wish I could be more like her. Bless her heart, she sincerely hopes that God is blessing everyone she comes in contact with in some way . . . and not just when they sneeze. 

     

WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Super Normal Unextraordinary Words, But the Ones We Need

      Words change over time. I've noticed that. A long time ago "cool" meant that something was not warm but rather slightly chilled. "Chill" doesn't mean the same thing anymore either. "Cool" took on a new meaning in the 60s and continues to mean that something is "good, desirable, or acceptable". Cool. Chill now means that someone or something is relaxed and devoid of much motion or emotion, as in- "I think it's cool that you're all chill and taking it easy today". Or better yet, when two words are combined- "Let's play it cool and CHILLAX today instead of getting all worked up and stressed out about how uncool the Corona Bologna virus". 

     Since I'm on a roll, let's take it a step further. The word "hot" doesn't mean what it did in the olden days either. Formerly it was confined to something being a degree or two above warm, a preferred condition good if you're drinking coffee, but undesirable if you're drinking Coca-Cola. But these days it indicates that someone or something is, like "cool", desirable. As in, "It's cool you have a hot girlfriend and all, but you need to chillax a little and hang out with us guys some, too". (Why does that sentence have to have "and all" in it? Because that's what the cool kids say).

     I'm also hearing the word "super" a lot nowadays. Fine and decent English teachers taught me during my schooling days that the word "very" was an unnecessary and useless word in a sentence. As in-"I feel very tired today". Very doesn't really do anything there- you're either tired or you're not. And I think English teachers still don't like it when students use the word "very" these days. So the kids have substituted another word- "super" to take its place. As in- "I'm super psyched to be able to just chillax today."

     Not long ago I heard a young man talking about taking his significant other to a Starbucks and asking if he could order two simple, regular cups of coffee and the worker there looked at him like he had just ordered a T-bone steak at Chick-Fil-A. "I thought it was a super normal question, but he reacted like I was nuts", declared the cool youngster with the hot girlfriend. 

     Super Normal. Really? How can there be such a thing? Something or someone really can't be a degree of normal. It's either normal or it's not. But kids these days love to say that word "super" so who am I to prevent them from enjoying that pleasure. 

     We super size our fast food order to get more calories and artery cloggers. We have supermarkets, Super Mario, superstars, super powers, the Super Bowl, supervisors, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and Superman (who can whoop anything that doesn't involve Kryptonite- or, as was the case in one movie, Batman). 

     I guess I kinda get it. We need words that will help us express degrees of emotion and help make our point. But sometimes those words may end up being more confusing than enlightening. 

     Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ didn't have such an issue. Though he spoke in parables, when it came to who He was, He never used fanciful words and was to the point. In John 14:6 he says- "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light, no one comes to the Father except through me". No adjectives, no words to indicate degrees (neither hot nor cold). Just a simple, take it or leave it statement. 

     And though He didn't have to in order to prove His authority, occasionally this super man would perform supernatural acts to indicate the superpowers given to Him by his Father. And when He deemed it necessary, He put the rich and self-promoting "wise" men of His day in their place quite often. Cool. Not so hot now, are you Mr. Pharisee?

     Yes, He gave it to us plain and simple, so much so that even a wretch like me can understand it. And I'm super glad He did.