Dear friends, for the next few weeks I want to speak with you about growing problems that are subtly creeping in, among people outside and inside the church, both unbelievers and believers.  In my messages of the next few weeks, we may hear some things we'd rather ignore, and things we may feel don't belong in church.  But since evil is affecting us powerfully, we must deal with it directly.  Like you, I'd rather come to church to be soothed and comforted, but that can happen only if we first know the truth about what's happening to us.

          As you can see from the bulletin, our theme is "Confronting Evil Around Us."  Recently I've been reading from the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel and have discovered danger in being a prophet.  There's something prophetic about speaking God's Word; it comforts the afflicted, but it also afflicts the comfortable.  Today I may afflict some comfortable people by confronting the evil in what we say and by showing problems with the words we use, whether carelessly or deliberately.

          There's an age-old story about a frog in a kettle.  If you want to cook a frog, you don't put him into a kettle of hot water because he'll hop right out.  Rather, you put him in comfortable water and gradually turn up the heat until the frog knows there's a problem, but by then he can't get out.  He's already cooked.  It's the frog's own fault for allowing himself to be lulled into thinking all is well.  He cooked his own goose!

          In matters of offensive language, we've been lulled into thinking all is well.  At times we may sense something amiss, but the more we listen to inappropriate words slip in here or there, the more we get used to them.  Then one day we discover we're embarrassed to watch a movie with our kids or we hide our CDs from Mom or Dad because of what they say.  Words once considered unthinkable have now become common and even acceptable.  We'd never want the public to hear us, but we know what we say in private.  Words once unthinkable have become common and even preferable, as both old and young are heard cursing in public like drunken sailors.

          Last Wednesday evening the professional musicians of America awarded three Grammies to a 28 year-old young man whose primary talent is a foul mouth.  "Eminem" performs songs that contain enough toxic waste to warrant investigation by the EPA.  This young man manages to offend just about every people group in America.  And yet he received 3 awards because responsible adults have fallen asleep in their warm kettle, his work has now been publicly affirmed and he's adored by teenagers.  His attitudes are not the norm among youth, and he is not the cause of evil around us.  But Eminem is helping spread it, also among young Christians.  I wonder if Christian kids and adults will get out of the pot before we all boil.

          Recently our Confirmation class youth had a discussion as to whether or not foul language in music was poetic expression.  Most of the kids said they were just rotten words.  Pastor Bob, that old critic, said foul language was destructive and showed a lack of imagination.  How can using the "f" word thirty times in one song be creative?  People who freely use rotten words may think they're creative and expressive.  But since when are "songs" about rape, murder, human waste, and beastiality artistic expression?  And how often can profanity be heard in public before even the most devout Christian becomes jaded to its meaning?

          Until recently, obscene words were bad enough to be considered illegal over the airwaves.  A fairly strict policy of censorship kept us from hearing nasty words in TV, radio and music.  Now there is no censorship.  People both inside and outside the entertainment industry are citing the First Amendment right of free expression to excuse lyrics that describe murder, incest and denigration of whole people groups, especially police and Christians.  And yet if you or I spoke such words in our office, we'd be disciplined, fired or sent to sensitivity training.  If kids said such words at home, they'd be grounded or have their mouths washed (at least I hope they would).  The entertainment industry, however, calls this poetic license.  And the more regularly people hear shocking words, the less shocking they become.

          I fully agree with our constitutional rights.  We must protect our freedom of speech.  But our rights are not absolute.  The First Amendment protects my right to speak freely, but I cannot yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater without dire consequences.  I may be free to criticize the President, but I cannot publicly say I'd like to kill him without finding myself behind bars.  I can't even joke around in an airplane by yelling, "Hi Jack!" to a fellow traveller!  Nor do I need to stand up for the rights of others who speak of evil things, even though I myself would never do it.

          Today thousands of people are saying, "I'd never do that, but I protect the rights of others to do it."  That sounds honorable, but it's based on false assumptions.  Many think it correct to say, "I'd never use filthy language, but I protect the rights of others to say whatever they want."  If that attitude were carried to its logical conclusion, we should also hear people saying, "I'd never rape another person, but I protect the right of others to do so."  Hopefully we'll never hear that because all rights have limits.

          It shouldn't surprise us that the ungodly of this world care little for decency, but it should scare us plenty to know Christians don't seem to care either.  Believers differ little from unbelievers in the language we use.  Christian youth, adults, and even some children, are heard using foul language in the Mall or at school.  Students in a Lutheran High School may curse just as badly as students in a public high school.  I suppose it's natural for teens to want to shock adults or to consider it macho to curse like convicts among themselves.  But we must know that such speech harms us.  We are what we speak, because what we speak becomes part of our soul.

          James, the brother of Jesus, said in our text, "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...  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be!"  Sounds like he's been listening to rap!  You and I need to confront foul talk and stop using it.  We must stand against those who would make obscenity acceptable, and we must be a positive witness to others by refusing to use foul words.  And if we ourselves have a problem with garbage language [and many of us do], even if it's privately, we must admit it and take steps to stop it.

          Granted, a bad word may slip out when we painfully stub our toe or narrowly miss having an auto accident.  But that's not the same as using them casually or carelessly.  And Christians have no business making obscene gestures to anyone for any reason.  We are what we speak, because what we speak and do becomes part of our soul.  If our mouths pour out a stream of toxic waste, we're polluting everything around us, burning emptiness into our hearts.  As James said, "My brothers, this should not be!"

          And I hope you aren't thinking this is making a mountain out of a molehill, or that obscenity is a small matter in the spectrum of human problems.  That's denial of the evil nature of this sin, and as they say, "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt."  When God gave us the Second Commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain," Luther explained that this commandment includes all forms of gutter talk.  It's not cool, it impresses no one, and it corrodes our faith like acid.

          Our Lord Jesus does not reject the person who curses.  He forgives us.  We can be certain He never spoke such words, but He heard others do it.  But it wasn't considered artistic expression then, just weakness.  There is forgiveness for those who repent and trust in Christ.  There is also power to change.  If we ask Him the Holy Spirit will take away our weakness and replace it with goodness.  As Paul wrote, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think [and speak] about such things." (Philippians 4:8)  Praise God!  He sees us at our weakest and loves us anyway.  Friends, next week's topic is a hot one - pornography.  May you and I trust God's power and love - and forgiveness - in all we say and do.  Amen

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.