Caution: This post may be inflamatory
February 13th, 2006 | by Scott |Sometime during my elementary school years I was given the nickname “Scooter.” Not very inventive, just an extension of my name. Kids in grade school called me by that moniker all the time.
When I hit seventh grade I moved to the main high school campus. One Friday after school we had a carnival. One of the booths was pencil engraving. I decided to buy some pencils with “scooter” engraved on them. The girl manning the booth, an upperclassman, said “are you sure you really want “scooter” on your pencils?”
I never went by that nickname again.
Growing up, however, I was called by a lot of different names that were not my choosing. I had bad acne, was overweight and had bad teeth. I was a convenient target for a lot of name-calling.
It hurt. Some days, when I am truly honest and reflective, it still does.
I longed for the day that I would grow up and the name calling would cease.
Because adults, especially Christian adults, would never stoop to name-calling, right?
Right?
Refined, educated, godly people would never resort to slurs or epithets, would they?
What I have found, instead, is an all too pervasive proclivity to brandish people with derogatory aspersions. And I know that it grieves God.
I am amazed by how Christians will condescend to name-calling with those that we disagree with:
Homosexuals are a ‘bunch of queers,’ ’sicko’s,’ ‘fruits,’ ‘perverts’ or ‘fags.’ Despite the fact that they are children of God.
Muslims are ‘towel heads,’ ’stans’ and they are all ‘zealous fanatics hell-bent on destroying the world.’ Despite the fact that they are children of God.
Environmentalists are ‘tree huggers’ and ‘environmentalist wackos.’ Despite the fact that they are children of God.
Those who are pro-choice are ‘baby-killers.’ Despite the fact that they are children of God.
Democrats are ‘commies,’ ‘pinko scum’ and ‘America haters.’ Despite the fact that they are children of God.
African Americans are, well you get the point.
To me, the saddest part of all of this is that these are phrases that I hear coming out of the mouth of Christians. In the defense of what we believe to be true and right we have marginalized and stereotyped the very people that our Savior died for.
I preached yesterday on the prophecy of Jesus as the Shepherd in Ezekiel 34. The NT parallel to that is found in John 10 where Jesus proclaims that He is the Good Shepherd. He also proclaims that His sheep know His voice (v. 3)
How sad and appalling, nay damnable, it is that so many precious souls of God never get to hear the voice of the Shepherd because all they hear from His sheep is hatred and slurs.
And undestand this, it is hatred. Everytime we utter the slur or insult, hatred has seized our heart.
We will never win the souls of homosexuals, Muslims, etc if we stand on the periphery of their lives and hurl our insults their way.
We can disagree with their lifestyle choices or political views all day long but there is NEVER any defense for invective.
Yes, we need to “speak the truth in love.” However, aspersions are neither true, nor are they love. If Jesus is the Truth, and I believe Him to be, then we must approach those He loves as we would approach Him.
Christians, when we resort to name-calling then we negate an opportunity to be Christ to others. Jesus is our example, not Ann Coulter (I pray that she will experience God’s love).
Growing up when I was called ‘fatty’ or ‘bucky’ or ‘zit-face’ it tore me up. When I turn my ire upon someone else today through the same weapon of name-calling I grieve the Lord.
Let’s end the name calling and instead be the voice of the Good Shepherd in a lost and dying world, shall we?
17 Responses to “Caution: This post may be inflamatory”
By Hero on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
THANK YOU!
By MamaQ on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
Thank you, Scott.
By Tracy3906 on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
You just got called a deadbeat on my blog. I feel bad for laughing now.
By W J Flywheel on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
Scott, I will admit that i am guilty.Will try to do better. We live in a culture where we tend to categorize people.
By Lachen on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for that. Whoa, I am sorry you had to endure such awful tauting.
You and I employ different approaches in how we respond to God’s commandment that we be salt in the world. I believe that salt is meant to cleanse a gaping wound. Sometimes that cleasing process hurts. Not by deliberation or malice on the part of the salt, but by definition as a byproduct of ridding the infection.
Thank God for people like you in the world. My own approach to answering the call of the Lord with my life is seasoned fron lifelong experience with too many Christians content to water down the Word of truth to appeal to the largest possible audience or make the fewest waves. I believe there is a delicate balance to be achieved. To love others as Christ loves me is easy. To stand on truth to those same people in the face of scorn and hatred, is not. But BOTH are required.
For the record, I kind of like the nickname Scooter. But I *totally* get that it was probably not the coolest thing for you after awhile.
By George Freeman on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
Scott, I remember calling you Scooter and hope you never took it personally. Of course, by the time I left the house you were still much to young to remember what I called you. As a matter of fact, I did call you by several names which I will not go into here.
I think everyone takes a certain amount of ridicule as they are growing up. Nothing can be more vicious than a bunch of children that deflect their own internal anxieties by making someone else the blount of group ridicule. It reminds me of a book that I read years ago written by a plastic surgeon (I cannot recall the title). The Dr. shared his experiences of using his surgical skills to make beautiful people even more beautiful. Yet, time after time the patient would still see the results and proclaim their lack of satisfaction and feeling of ugliness.
You know the point. Beauty is not the superficial but the demonstration of the heart and mind.
We all have our targets that we use to deflect our feelings of inadequacy. I remember 1965 and the first people of color that became students in our High School. Our entire class went out of the way to make them feel miserable. Why? We simply did not have the skills nor did we have the skills portrayed to us through our teachers to deal with a different ethnic group.
It is still the same today and will never change. I now rankle at the use of terms such as “old coot”, “old man”, “blue-haired lady”,,,you get the point.
By scott on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
I understand the need to rail against watering down truth yet there is no scriptural basis for insulting those who do not agree with us.
There is no balance between insult and love–it must ALWAYS come down on the side of love. That does not mean that you don’t call sin, sin. It does mean that you aren’t insulting of the individual as you do it. Jesus was not insulting of others. Well, except for the religious. Which should make each of us pause.
By scott on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
By the way, thank you Hero and Mama for your kindness.
And dad, thanks for your willingness to be transparent and honest. We all need to take stock of the times we fall short here.
By scott on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
George, it never bothered me to be called Scooter. That’s not the point. Of course, when a high school girl didn’t like it, my opinions changed.
The point of my article is not sadness over being called names as a kid. That’s over and done. The point is that we do it as adults to those who live different lives than we do.
And there is no Christian defense for that.
By George Freeman on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
I agree and that was where I was going. The end result is that it matters not what others think, feel or say. As an Abraham Maslow disciple my thought processes take me to a different approach.
We can protest and bemoan all day long that this group/person is made fun of, chided or derailed. We can state that this is wrong. Yet it will be. It is only when a person reaches the self knowledge that they are in control and powerful that counts.
Why not concentrate on helping people reach the highest level of self-actualization. The ability to know that they are whole, intact and have value.
I would love to have this conversation over a cup of coffee because I can’t type this much in an evening.
Please keep in mind that I always try to have at least 1 point of humor in a post.
By scott on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
Even that I think misses the point. I believe we need a whole lot less of “self-actualization” and a whole lot more of dying to self. By doing that, as Christ told us to, we value others and strive to show the value that they have in Christ.
I don’t adhere to Maslow or his hierarchy of needs. I believe we need to look less at the self and more at the Christ.
By George Freeman on Feb 13, 2006 | Reply
ok…
I give up since the conversation is obviously over.
Frankly Scott, this post of yours seems to be all about conclusions you have reached and need to somehow put into substance.
I hope I get to where you are soon.
By Kevin Bussey on Feb 14, 2006 | Reply
Good points Scott. I will take it a step further for pastors. I never make fun of people in my messages anymore–unless it is me! We don’t need to do anything to keep people from coming to Jesus.
By scott on Feb 14, 2006 | Reply
George,
I wasn’t trying to anger you or end the conversation. However, coming from the Christian viewpoint and our need to be salt, light and the voice of Christ in the world then it is imperative that we don’t abuse that position and responsibility.
I guess it is based upon conclusions I have reached. I see nothing in Scripture to lead me to conclude otherwise. And that is still my primary guide.
I have put it in substance in that I will no longer use the slurs and insults that I once used. I will not sit by while others hurl the same invective. For, ultimately, that is a soul that needs to be reached with the gospel.
I think it does matter what people say, especially when they are purporting to be representatives of Christ.
But don’t misunderstand, I do get where you are coming from. I’m just not much of a Maslow fan.
By Jason Bybee on Feb 14, 2006 | Reply
Scott,
I read today that school officials at Gonzaga University have asked students to stop chanting “Brokeback Mountain” at opposing players during basketball games. Your post is certainly apropos for the times we live in. May Christ continue to reorient everything about us, especially the way we see each other.
By George Freeman on Feb 14, 2006 | Reply
Scott, you didn’t anger me at all. I just realize we have different perspectives and it is useless to try to get to the same point when you are using different road maps.
In the end none of us really “know” anything. You just try to develop a path based upon your experiences and deductions. I suspect I am just a bit more one the humanist side than you are so we have different ways of becoming “mature in the faith” or “self-actualized.”
Much of my point cannot be made in a response to a blog without being misunderstood. Frankly, my approach to the hermeneutics of scripture is different from yours and most people of a fundamentalist persuasion. That being said, I think we all end up with the same conclusions but different applications.
I drift from the main point. Again, we all have bias and prejudice in our makeup. It is inevitable.
By James on Feb 16, 2006 | Reply
Good post, Scott. It seems to me that Christ’s ministry was about restoring dignity lost to fallen people, not making fun of their brokeness to gain a boost of ego. Thanks for calling us to imitate Him in the way we treat one another.