CALLING PEOPLE NAMES

“WHY DO YOU ASK MY NAME? IT IS BEYOND UNDERSTANDING.”

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

“With our tongue we praise our LORD and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in His Likeness….my brothers, such things should not be so…no man can tame the tongue.”

The Jewish tradition of saying only G__D is lampooned in “The Holy Grail”, and of course we think it is funny because to try to do so is either unmanageable—how do you do “damage control?”—or else precludes discussing G__D at all; which most 21^st Century ethnic Jews are only too happy to do; and to follow their Gentile cousins in their paths of profanity.

“God Knows,” our tongues are all defiled enough.  Even if we don’t say it out loud, Jesus states that anyone who calls his brother a fool, even if only in his heart is “in danger of hellfire” (see above—from James.)

If I don’t confess to this, call me a liar. In fact, how can we help but lie, seeing as we are anything but disinterested parties, and know so very little?

“God Knew” that for any Name we are given in any tongue, whether that of God or a of a man, we are destined to mangle it, to idol-ize it (the ultimate mangle that makes no one clean), or to use it to curse God and man all in one breath.

(It amazes me when a person is perfectly willing to curse men with God’s names—using a God in whom they claim not to believe—and are offended by  far more trivial fare themselves. This suggests that the motive is to try to deliberately insult not only the Person but all persons who love and revere that Person. Of course most people are actually taught to say such things as a child and use it reflexively. But if we are post Christians and tolerant to a fault, why does this Name still have such power?  It seems Christ is “not dead yet!”)

When one claims to know everything that is pertinent; or even knowing the heart and soul of any given human individual, it is in the same category as  declaring we are humble,  and we really are confessing our ignorance/arrogance  for all to see. Christians are often accused of this—but actually a genuine Christ-follower has a profound respect for mystery and confesses to being unable to truly understand, much less gainsay, God.  God is just too big for the individual—much less any committee or posse - to understand.

 Nor do I  claim to  de-personalize  harmful ideas  very well. This blog is a Danger Mouse area wherein trivia may reign and anger may rule,  mixed up and confused with persons for whom Christ died, so that careless words be spread abroad; in this my critics are quite correct: “Danger Danger, Will Schuler!!!”

Yet as I have said many times, and as remains my ultimate goal, it is one thing to oppose the IDEAS of men; quite another to wish destruction or defilement on PERSONS, SOULS, AND SPIRITS; the like of which is condemned throughout the Bible.  It is thus that enemies of Israel could, on an individual basis, serve God even more than the then-current crop of ethnic tribal Hebrews.  Ruth was from Moab; Rahab a Canaanite prostitute; yet both women are highly honored and are in the genealogy of Christ. Of course that means nothing to McWorld, an ersatz entity with no soul, but to which the Screwtapeworms attach themselves every moment.

I feel sorry for us when we struggle over  greasy and stale “McNuggets” which we so quickly purchase from McWorld at infinitely inflated prices (Have ye ever found a pearl in a McMeal?) which have potential only to malnourish the eater.

It is said, or rather promised, that “Flo” and “Bill” will soon be no more. “That’s my name don’t wear it out.”( And may I add that many of my shoes will outlive me! Especially  my wedding shoes!)  There is however a “new name written down in Glory,” which no man knows, any more than  any man can know his time, much less know when He will return.  I do not confess, nor did Paul or John, to have a clear idea of what that means; only that it is all a part of the Promise that we do have a freely given opportunity to be changed, “Under New Management;” even if our name is Ray Kroc!