Share God’s word, not word salad

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to share God’s word with perfect clarity? 

I’ve most often muddled the task when I have assumed I know what to say instead of understanding I don’t. The only perfect words are authored by our perfect God and it’s easy to get in his way sometimes. 

One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Psalm 19:14. It is a verse I like to pray before I teach, speak, or write a blog post. The psalm says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” 

We need more than words to communicate the truth of God; we also need an acceptable heart.

The phrase word salad has been used for political purposes recently, but I wondered what the phrase meant. As it turns out, it’s a pretty good description for some of our “muddled” speech. If we want to share God’s word with clarity, we should understand what that means biblically.

What is word salad?

Merriam-Webster defines word salad as “unintelligible, extremely disorganized speech” or “a string of empty, incoherent, nonsensical words or comments.” 

Technically, it has often been used to describe the speech of someone with a mental disorder. Lately, word salad has been used politically to describe an answer to a question that never really provides an answer, or a series of relevant-sounding phrases that are actually irrelevant to the listener.

If you are like me, you’ve heard sermons and podcasts or have read articles or papers that, when finished, haven’t seemed to make an important point at all. (Even as I type those words, I am prayerful for my own writing!)

Someone described word salad as a jello salad, saying, “Who first thought about opening a can of fruit and putting it in a bowl of jello? It is like taking something healthy and mixing it with something to make it less healthy.” 

Obviously, that person isn’t a huge fan of jello salad! 

Do we sometimes mix God’s word up with things that make it sweeter to the taste but less beneficial than God intended his word to be? 

One of the best seminars I ever attended was led by a Christian fiction writer who had, on occasion, been criticized for being too graphic in his mystery writing. He said his editors would often ask him to “soften” his words.

The man then spent the next minutes describing several passages in Scripture that had been “softened” in order to teach or preach them in church. I will always remember the point he made that day. He asked us, “At what point did God give us permission to edit or soften his word?”

It is sobering to consider the words of Christ who said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36–37).

Careful speech is not “softened” truth

I think we need to word God’s truth carefully. 

I sometimes cringed when I sat in the pew with my young boys and listened to a biblical passage or sermon that dealt with sensitive, adult topics. I knew the car ride home might get interesting! 

Thankfully, I knew the preacher was coming home soon and I could just say, “Wait and ask your dad about that.”

My husband, Jim, and I were talking about our early years of ministry. We had a conflict in our small church because some of the women wanted to do a baby shower and help an unmarried, pregnant teen get ready for her baby. Other women in the church worried that we were expressing acceptance of sin as we were offering compassion to someone who needed it. Honestly, both sides of the conflict were able to make a strong, biblical argument.

We ended up hosting the shower and helping the unwed, teenage mother. I’m glad we did that, but, at the same time, forty years later, I’ve seen the problems associated with softening or withholding God’s word on the subject of a premarital sexual relationship. A 2015 survey said that almost 90 percent of unmarried men and women confessed to having a sexual relationship prior to marriage. Other articles called premarital sex “the norm.”

When is the last time your preacher boldly preached the truth of God’s word on the subject? 

Hebrews 13:4 is a clear statement: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

Have we softened God’s word on the subject of homosexuality? 

Paul told the church in Rome that there would be consequences for those who engaged in that behavior. He said, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:26–27). 

Many have tried to edit Paul’s statement or rewrite it to bring it into agreement with current, more tolerant thinking. There isn’t any way to edit Paul’s words to make those sexual sins acceptable today.

At what point did God give us permission to tolerate what he has said is dishonorable, unnatural, and shameless? Are we helping a person if we offer tolerance for sin instead of offering the truth about that sin? 

Paul taught we must speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), but he also taught we must speak the truth.

Does our word salad sweeten God’s word but make it less beneficial?

As I have said before, one of my “life verses” is from the book of Hosea. God told the prophet, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

Is our good desire to protect people’s feelings hindering God’s desire for them to know the truth? 

Current statistics would seem to say that tolerating sins is not helping people to understand that God has said there are consequences to those sins. 

Are people’s lives, and eternal lives, being destroyed because they lack knowledge of God and his word? Is a lack of truth destroying our children’s and grandchildren’s generations?

I know I have softened God’s word at times to help it feel more appropriate or acceptable. I may even have helped others feel better about their sin as a result. I pray that God will forgive my offering of word salad when what they most needed was the truth of God’s word.

There is a new way to look at an ancient psalm. Those words say, “Set a guard, O Lᴏʀᴅ, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! (Psalm 141:3)” 

As I read that psalm, I pictured the plexiglass guard that hangs over the salad bar at a steakhouse. My new version of that psalm became this: “Hang the guard, Lord, over all my ‘word salad’ and help me leave the jello-words unspoken. Instead, guide me back to the table to consume and share the meat from your word.” 

The words of our lips ought to provide people the wisdom they need to walk in God’s truth.

Let no one suffer because they lack knowledge of who God is and what God most wants for their lives now and eternally. 

They might want the salad bar, but we need to help them choose the steak instead.

An Expensive Towel

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog that mentioned washing windows. I received several comments about a towel that would make washing my windows an easier job. Suzanne warned me that the BacLock Norwex Window Cloth wasn’t cheap, but she said it was really worth it. 

After reading her comment, I googled it. I read the comments from other users who, like Suzanne, promised it would change my life. 

But—and this will come as no surprise to my close friends—I decided it was too much to spend on a towel. 

But then . . . 

Summer vacation 2020 

Jim and I wanted to take a week of vacation out at Possum Kingdom Lake. It was a staycation because we were at our own little house. My oldest son, Ryan, wrote Jim’s articles that week, so it was truly a vacation from work. (And shoutout to Ryan—they were GREAT articles!) 

Jim and I spent the week taking day trips to places we had always wanted to see but had never found the time. We visited three forts, a few museums, several small towns, and saw interesting historical landmarks we might never have seen otherwise. 

For the Texas history buffs, we saw the forts that built this state, protected the early settlers, and, sadly, devastated the American Indian population that had enjoyed this land first. We crossed the border into Oklahoma and saw Fort Sill, the place where Geronimo, Quanah Parker, Cynthia Parker, and many of the family are buried. 

I won’t impose any more home movies on all of you, but it was a great way to spend a week of vacation when a regular vacation just wasn’t in the cards. 

Twenty sticky handprints later . . . 

While we were exploring historical sites in Texas, our kids and grandkids spent a few days at our home in Dallas. It gave them a staycation, of sorts. It was fun to see the pictures of my grandsons playing in the pool, cooking out, and having fun. 

Our kids did a great job picking up the house, but a few “souvenirs” remained. After returning from our vacation, I was sitting in my chair when I caught a glimpse of bright orange peeking out from under the coffee table. I extracted the Lego train and two other items that had been missed. It made me smile to think of them playing with those toys. 

I also noticed the windows were once again needing some attention. I loved seeing those handprints at two different levels. It was easy to know which grandson they belonged to. I was about to clean them when I remembered that towel people had recommended. 

I wondered, “Does it really work that well?” 

I went back to my computer and all those comments convinced me it was a good towel. Then, I found some on sale because they were pink and only three remained. 

I saw that as an invitation, maybe even a calling to make the purchase. 

I enjoyed looking at those sweet little handprints until the towel arrived. 

Picture fireworks going off while a band plays 

The BacLock Norwex Window Cloth arrived at my front door on Sunday morning. I tore open the package and thought, “Oh no. I can’t believe I spent twenty-six dollars on this towel!” (And that, by the way, was the sale price!) 

But, I owned it and I was going to use it. 

I filled the sink up and added a few drops of Dawn and a touch of vinegar. I wrung the towel out and started washing all those sweet handprints away. 

At this point, if I could insert a link to Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” I would, just so you could have the full effect of how I felt twenty handprints later. 

I couldn’t stop. My windows have never looked so good! 

That towel is a miraculous invention. I don’t know why it works. I don’t need to. 

I don’t know why it costs so much, but I would pay it again if I ever lost this one. 

Thank you, Suzanne, for your comment a few weeks ago. I will think of you whenever I’m cleaning my windows! 

The most expensive towel in history 

That towel is incredible, but it isn’t the most valuable towel in human history. 

Consider the towel that Jesus used to dry the feet of his disciples. Imagine what historical museums would fight to spend on that towel if they could. 

Jesus knew he was headed to Calvary. His disciples were gathered in the Upper Room when the Son of God knelt to wash their filthy feet and dry them with a towel. One by one, Jesus made everyone clean, even Judas. 

People in first-century Israel wore sandals and walked through all manner of filth during their day. Washing feet was a job normally given to the lowest servant in the household. In fact, it was in the laws that no Jewish person could be forced to wash another person’s feet. 

That’s why Peter was confused and probably a bit horrified when Jesus knelt in front of him. He questioned him saying, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” (John 13:6). 

Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”  Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:7–8). 

Jesus did countless acts of love during his ministry, none more significant than those early moments in the Upper Room. Before Jesus told his disciples that he was going to die, he taught them how they would need to live if they wanted to share in his ministry. 

Is the towel worth it? 

I could have hired someone to wash my windows, but it would have been a lot more expensive than buying that towel. And windows get dirty again and again and again. My windows will be much cleaner a lot more often because I got that towel and learned how to use it. 

We Bible teachers don’t talk often enough about the need for extreme sacrifice, extreme love, and extreme commitment. One of the reasons we don’t teach those lessons is that they make people uncomfortable. Another reason is that those lessons make us uncomfortable too. 

But, our lives will be a lot cleaner if we think about what Jesus taught his disciples by washing their feet. Jesus could have asked someone else to do that job, but he knelt and did the job himself. 

Christians feel good when they donate to organizations that take care of people in need. Serving at those organizations and interacting with people who have great need is a larger commitment. 

We are quick to donate to missionaries who serve in places that are not as safe and comfortable as where we live. Going to those places to serve requires more of us. 

Sometimes it is easier to offer our money than it is to tie the towel around our waists and serve others, like Jesus did. 

People, like windows, get dirty over and over again. That’s why Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit. He wanted to continue to wash people’s feet, through us. 

The week after vacation

I remember thinking, “When I get back from vacation, things will have calmed down.” 

I was wrong. 

This week I’m thinking, “How do I help?” 

The towel of service might end up costing more than we want to pay, but it will be worth it—if it does the job. There is a lot to clean up in our culture. 

How can we help? 

God knows the answer to that question. The point is, are we asking and expecting his answer? 

I was washing my windows, thinking about this blog post when I had the thought, “Maybe I’m supposed to write about that.” 

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). 

If Jesus could speak to us today, he might suggest we pick up a towel as well.

The Lancaster Lifestyle

The quiet life of the plain people

Previously, my only experience with the Amish lifestyle was through novels and movies. Then I made a trip to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, and I spent some time among the Amish. I found their lifestyle fascinating and thought-provoking.

I’ve always loved—but have struggled to live—the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:10–12 that says, “But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

I aspire to live that verse, but it requires effort and choice to find that kind of quiet in my Dallas life. Nevertheless, that’s the verse that kept coming to mind as I drove past the farms in Lancaster County and visited stores and other places intended to reflect the Amish way of life.  

If there were some kind of apocalyptic occurrence in the world, I imagine the Amish in Lancaster County would be far better off than the rest of us. In fact, I wonder if a catastrophe would impact them much at all.

Their daily lives would look familiar, even now, to their ancestors. In contrast, my grandparents would be astonished to see everything that this computer I’m typing on is able to accomplish. For that matter, my mom is still astonished on occasion. Change seems to be a constant in our lives, but the Amish still use oxen to plow their fields and horses to pull their buggies.

The Amish have chosen to stay separate from the rest of the culture and take care of themselves, their families, and their community. They raise their children to depend on God and hopefully choose the Amish lifestyle for their futures. The times change, but they have chosen not to change with them—at least not too much. The Amish buggy I followed down the highway had turn signals!

Is the Amish lifestyle what the apostle Paul intended when he wrote 1 Thessalonians 4:10–12?  

Why do the Amish choose to live a “plain” life?

I was surprised to learn that my theological roots are closely related to those of the Amish. The Amish and the Baptists both trace their beginnings to a group called the Anabaptists, who were persecuted during the Protestant Reformation because they did not believe in infant baptism. Those Christians were forced to flee from their homeland because many were being put to death for “defying” the traditional Catholic faith.

Eventually, the Amish and Mennonite people left Europe in the 1720s and 1730s and accepted William Penn’s offer of religious freedom. That is why they settled in the area that later became known as Pennsylvania. Many are still in that area today, on the same land their ancestors farmed.

I enjoyed my time in Lancaster County. We discovered a family restaurant that offered traditional Mennonite recipes. The food was wonderful, the pies were amazing, and the servers were quietly kind and seemed to enjoy serving. The walls of that restaurant were covered with Scripture. It felt like a privilege to eat there. Truthfully, I felt a little sad to pull away from that very simple, very plain, and very comfortable hotel room in Lancaster.  

There is something to be said for the “plain” lifestyle, but is that how all of us should interpret the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:10–12?  

That is the thought that has given me pause since returning home. Paul said to live quietly; to mind our own affairs; to work with our hands; to walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Those words seem to describe a lifestyle that looks more Amish than the way most of us have chosen to live.

Why did Paul speak those words to the Thessalonians?  

Thessalonica was a busy seaport in Macedonia, and one of the largest, most important cities Paul visited. Paul taught in the synagogue there, doing his best to convince people that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah.

Acts 17:1–10 describes Paul’s time in the city. Acts 17:5 says, “The Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.”  Paul was forced to flee to Berea, but his message, after just three days of preaching, was received by many in that important city, and a significant Christian church was formed and tasked with reaching their culture.

Later, Paul wrote his letters to the church, trying to help those new Christians protect themselves from the same persecution he had faced. He complimented them on their faith and told them, among other things, to live quietly, separately, work hard, and try not to depend on others for their livelihoods. In context, Paul’s words were given to help those early Christians survive in an angry culture that didn’t like their message.  

Paul’s life is his message as well

The Anabaptist people needed that same teaching to survive the persecution of their day so they came to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They chose to maintain that way of life to protect their faith, even after coming to a land that gave them permission to worship freely. In many ways, the Amish have lived as a persecuted people, even though they were free.  

And that is a point to consider today. If Paul was teaching that a quiet life, lived separately from the world and not dependent on others, was the “Christian” lifestyle, then Paul didn’t choose to live as he taught. Neither did Jesus. Both Jesus and Paul lost their lives because they did not separate from the world; they preached to it.

In fact, that is the lifestyle most of our biblical heroes were called to lead.  

How then should we live today?

Jesus prayed for his followers, saying, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15 NIV).

Jesus knew that it would be difficult for Christians to live their faith around people who didn’t follow God’s plan for their lives. Jesus knew that human beings will always struggle to submit to God’s sovereignty because Satan, the evil one, will always work to separate people from God’s plan.  

But, if Jesus prayed for our protection, shouldn’t we trust that God answered that prayer?

It was right for Paul to teach the Thessalonian church (and consequently the early Anabaptists) how to survive in a culture that was trying to take the lives of the faithful followers of God. It was also right for Paul to continue to live in the midst of his culture in order to fulfill his calling.

And that is the point for all of us today. I wish there were a strict set of rules each of us could follow to guarantee we were leading a godly lifestyle. We have God’s laws, and they are still truth, but God also gave us his Holy Spirit to guide each of us to the life and calling he wants for our lives.  

What is your calling?

It’s important to remember that our calling will never break God’s laws, but the Holy Spirit will teach us how to fulfill our calling with the people around us.  

I was impressed by what I saw in the Amish way of life, and I wish I had more time to live amongst them. At the same time, I’m called to live in Dallas and freely serve God as his Holy Spirit leads. My “quiet” life is better described by the quiet confidence and peace that accompanies a busy, suburban lifestyle and ministry.  

Like Paul, we each have to run our own race. God’s Holy Spirit will teach us which lane is ours, how fast to run, and which direction to go. Those instructions will probably change daily, weekly, and yearly.

Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Walking with the Spirit is the plain truth, for plain people, who want to live the life God has called them to live.

There may be days ahead when God’s Spirit instructs us to live like Paul taught the church in Thessalonica and the early Anabaptists. For now, we are free to teach and preach the gospel message to a world that needs to hear it.

And if one day God were to call me to live more like the Amish people, I think I would enjoy that ministry as well!

Marie Kondo’s Advice

Who is Marie Kondo?

I kept noticing a beautiful Japanese woman popping up on various news programs and talk shows. Her name is Marie Kondo and, apparently, I’m late to her fan base. Marie Kondo has written a best seller titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and has a hit show on Netflix.

That book title grabbed my attention. I’m known among family and friends for being a stickler for cleanliness. So, I investigated her website to learn more about this woman. Marie Kondo, as it turns out, is making a fortune encouraging people to clean up and simplify their surroundings by choosing to keep only the things that give joy.

The concept was intriguing. Even as I type, I’m looking around and realizing that, if I were to take her words to heart, I would get rid of several things, just in this one room. I’m sixty. I’ve been married for thirty-eight years and we have accumulated a lot of “stuff.”

Six rules for a tidy life

Marie Kondo has six basic rules to tidying:

  • Commit yourself to tidying.
  • Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
  • Finish discarding first.
  • Tidy by category, not by location.
  • Follow the right order.
  • Ask yourself if it sparks joy.

Marie teaches, “If you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again.” (And yes, I checked. She does have children.)

A lot of what she teaches makes good sense. I started making a home in the 1980s. Back in those days, we couldn’t put enough “stuff” on our shelves. Every stack of books required a small brass pot with a plant on top. And every wall was to be a collage of something rather than one giant canvas of one giant flower. And, we were taught to find our joy in God and in people, not things.

God’s rules for a tidy life

I teach Bible and therefore believe that the highest joy is a product of knowing God and walking in a right relationship with our Creator. But the Bible also teaches about the importance of simplicity and not being consumed by the “stuff” of life.

Paul taught Timothy to keep things simple in his life, writing, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:6–8). I think people in our culture would be happier today if we took these verses to heart in our lives.

Interestingly, Marie Kondo teaches that the first place a person should simplify is their clothes closet. The second step is their books. I’ll be honest, I’m really “tidy” except for my clothes and my books. Maybe Marie is onto something here! I don’t think I will become a Marie Kondo disciple anytime soon, but I do think she inspires some healthy thinking.

If you are like me, you probably have too much “stuff” cluttering your life and home as well. Maybe spring cleaning this year should be a little larger in scale.

A clean life and a clean soul

A few weeks ago, I sent around an idea on my Facebook page. A friend had shared the idea with me and I thought it was a great one.

Christians have a tradition of “giving up” something for Lent. The season of Lent begins in one week. The Facebook post suggests that we all take boxes and bags, and, for the forty days of Lent, give up at least one thing we don’t use anymore, that someone else could. At the end of those forty days, we can donate those things to a ministry or resale center.

As I look around my home, I could probably do this every day for a year! One thing, each day, that we can give to someone else. How will that choice simplify our lives and bless others?

To that I would add this idea: The “stuff” Christians give shouldn’t always be material. What would happen if we added a second commitment?

What words can you give away each day as well? Easter is a time when people are more aware of Jesus and his sacrificial gift of salvation. Whom can you share the joyful hope of Easter with this year?

Marie Kondo instructs people to only keep those things that give them joy. I think there is some value in her thinking. But, there is a higher value in God’s thinking, and I want to close with his words.

Isaiah 55:1–3 reveals the compassion of God for his people. God told Isaiah to tell us:

Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live.

I’m going to choose something nice each day of the Lenten season that I can give away to someone who needs it more. I also want to commit to inclining my ear to God’s voice for those forty days. I want my closet and home to look a little better by Easter, but, even more, I would like my soul to be better as well.

Will you join me in choosing some of Marie Kondo’s advice and all of God’s?

We can bless other people with what we give up and give away. Our homes, our lives, and our souls will look a lot better for Easter this year if we make that commitment for the season of Lent.