For men shall be … unholy …
—I Tim 3:2
5049 Careless Usages Of Words
Driving along a Florida road recently I noticed a signboard in front of a new development: “Paradise, Incorporated.” My first thought was that I had never been aware that heaven had a board of directors! Well, if what I saw is paradise, heaven is not as glorious as you and I have supposed. Paradise indeed! It was in Paradise that the Apostle Paul “heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” For paradise is heaven (II Cor. 12:1–4).
“Paradise” is not the only word that is frequently used in a careless manner. Stuckey’s, a chain of roadside snack bars in the South, sells Pecan Divinities, “Gooey” and very good marshmallow-like nut candies. The word “divinity” alludes to deity; it denotes the state or quality of being divine. Careless speech involves such statements as “That’s a divine dress” or “You gave us a divine dinner last night.” Let’s not be thoughtless or lazy in expressing ourselves, especially in the use of words that relate to the character and attributes of God. Remember Matthew 12:36–37.
—The Pilgrim
5050 Astronaut Apologizes
As reported by the Associated Press, Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan recently apologized to those who might have become offended by some of the earthy language which the Apollo 10 astronaut used while orbiting the moon. Especially, Cernan gave vent to his feelings when things didn’t go right, including a frightening moment when one of their spaceships gyrated within a few miles of the moon.
At a news conference, Cernan said: “What you heard was three men trying to do a difficult job in a new world. Sometimes you have to use strong words to express your emotions. We want to thank many people around the world for expressing their very sincere understanding. For those people who were offended, and whose prayers were so much a part of our flight, I can only say simply and sincerely from all three of us, we’re sorry.”
—Christian Victory
5051 Daring The Almighty
In the early morning of December 28, 1908, an earthquake totally destroyed the flourishing and extraordinarily beautiful city of Messina, Italy, and 75,000 human beings died. We read:
“Only a few hours before that devastating earthquake, which laid Messina and the surrounding districts in ruins, the unspeakably wicked and irreligious condition of some of the inhabitants was expressed in a series of violent resolutions, which were passed against all religious principles. And the journal Il Tleefono, printed in Messina, actually published in its Christmas number an abominable parody daring the Almighty to make Himself known by sending an earthquake! And in three days He did!”
—A. E. Janzen
5052 Beetles More Popular Than Jesus?
John Lennon, 26, a member of the British rock’n’roll quartet topped it all by telling a London reporter, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. … ”
—Christianity Today
5053 Burial Remains By Mail
An English clergyman has complained that the cremated remains of an elderly woman, due for burial in the local churchyard, arrived at his vicarage—by mail.
Writing in his parish magazine, Vicar Peter Spivey of the Yorkshire parish of Meltham said that he found this increasingly common practice on the part of morticians “degrading and distasteful.” The woman had been cremated in London; the undertaker paid $3.70 in mailing fees to ship the small metal box containing the ashes.
Vicar Spivey is now advising parishioners to add a provision to their wills specifying that they “not be sent by registered post for burial.”
—D. J. Douglas
5054 Moody And Sankeymonious
During a circus performance in Dublin, at the time of the great revival under Moody’s preaching when Sankey’s hymns were being sung everywhere, one clown, pretending to be dejected, said to the other, “I feel quite moody tonight. How do you feel?” “Oh!” said the other, “I’m sankeymonious.” Contrary to what was expected, this was met with hisses, and the whole audience rose and sang, “Hold the fort, for I am coming.”
—D. J. Beattie
5055 Indians Had No Profanity
The Red Indians have not one single oath in their mother tongues. They do swear now, but they swear in English and French. Their wonderful reverence for the Great Spirit kept their language undefiled by profane words.
—J. H. Bomberger
5056 Zacchaeus And The Tree
There is an interesting story about Zacchaeus of Jericho: When he was aged, white-headed, he spent much time in a garden which he bought in Jericho, near the Jerusalem road. Neighbors noticed there was one tree under which Zacchaeus loved to sit and which he touched almost with reverence. A passing stranger one day asked him, “Why carest thou thus for the old tree?” The aged man lifted his fading eyes, but they had a glow, and slowly came the answer: “Because from the boughs of this tree I first saw my Lord and heard His voice.”
—J. B. Dengis
5057 Billy Sunday’s Sacred Spot
One day, some years ago, a policeman walking his beat in Chicago, observed a man standing before a little building, with bared head, acting—as the cop thought—”pretty queer.”
“Either sick—or drunk,” he concluded, eyeing the man suspiciously. Then he walked up to where the man stood with eyes closed, and grunted: “What’s the matter, Mac? Sick?”
The man opened his eyes, and smiled. “No, officer. My name’s Bill Sunday, and I was converted right here in that little mission. I never come by here that I don’t take off my hat and say a prayer.”
The cop grinned now, reached a giant hand to Billy, and said, heartily: “Put ’er there, Bill! I’ve heard about it. You keep right on with your prayer, and I’ll keep the crowd away.”
—Chester Schuler
5058 Pronunciation Of Yahweh
The covenant name for the God of Israel in the Old Testament is Yahweh. This name was so sacred that by the second century B.C. the Jews refused to pronounce it. (Orthodox Jews will not pronounce this sacred name even today.) When the ancient Jewish scholar came across the name Yahweh he would pronounce it “Adonai,” which means “my Lord.”
The Hebrew at that time had no vowels. The system of vowel points had not yet been invented, and therefore Yahweh was written YHVH, which is called the Tetragrammaton (the Four Letter Word). No one really knows how it was pronounced. When the Masoretic scholars added to the consonantal word YHVH the vowels from the word Adonai, the name turned out to be “YaHoVaH.” However, this is a hybrid word. Therefore, Jehovah has been dropped from many modern translations in favor of “Yahweh.”
5059 Gladstone’s Only Fear
Another great British statesman, W. E. Gladstone, who often served as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1894, once sat in Christ’s Church College and talked at some length about happy changes he had witnessed during his lifetime in the lot of the English people. His outlook was so radiantly optimistic that it aroused a challenge. One of the students said, “Sir, are we to understand that you have no anxieties for the future? Are there no adverse signs?” The grand old man of England answered slowly, “Yes, there is one thing that frightens me—the fear that God seems to be dying out in the minds of men.”
—Prairie Overcomer
5060 “Monday Morning Letter”
A high-school girl wrote the following dated Monday morning, to a friend:
“I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me only once, I felt that you were sincere in wanting me to come. I came alone. I looked for you, hoping to sit beside you. But you were not there.
“A stranger, I wanted to sit near the back of the church. But I couldn’t. Those rows were all packed. An usher had to lead me right up to the front. I felt as if I were on parade.
“The congregation sang hymns that I didn’t know. I tried to mumble along and pretend that I was singing, but I had never heard those hymns before. I must confess that I was surprised to note that some of the church people weren’t singing. Between their sighs and yawns they just stared into space. Three of the kids that I had respected on campus were whispering to one another. Another girl was giggling. I really did not expect that in your church.
“The pastor’s sermon was interesting, although some members of the choir didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. One kept smiling at someone in the congregation. The pastor spoke about the reality of faith. The message got to me, and I made up my mind to speak to someone about it after the service. But utter chaos reigned after the benediction.
“I said “Good morning” to one couple, but their greeting was less than cordial. I looked for some teens with whom I could discuss the sermon, but they were huddled in a corner talking about the newest records. One girl looked my way but just waved.
“My parents don’t go to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a friendly congregation in which they wouldn’t feel too out-of-place.
“But as I left, I wasn’t too impressed with the sign outside the church that read, “The friendly church with the warm welcome.” I’m sorry, but I won’t be back.”
—Mel Johnson
5061 Epigram On Reverence
• I fear God, and next to God I chiefly fear him who fears Him not.
—Saadi, Persian Poet
See also: Profanity ; Glorifying God ; Worship ; II Thess. 2:12; Jude 15; Rev. 16:9, 21.