What is the most misused word?

Question of the week: What is the most misused word?

Last week USA Today ran a list of the most annoying phrases in conversation. For example:

• “Whatever,” picked by 47%.
• “You know,” 25%.
• “It is what it is,” 11%.

But that got me thinking in a different direction, not about fillers and interjections, but about good words that have taken on a different connotation. What words do you think are most misused?

Join the conversation!

20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Still Many Walls to Peace

20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there are still walls blocking the way to peace...

Nov. 9, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the day when the East German government finally allowed its citizens to cross the Berlin Wall into West Germany. Crowds from East Germany poured over the wall, at long last able to see the other half of their still-divided country. In the following weeks, Germans on both sides began to smash away at the concrete edifice that had divided them for almost 30 years.

Germany will commemorate this day with a “Festival of Freedom,” during which one thousand 8-foot-tall foam dominoes will be set up along the wall’s former location and then toppled. The festival will celebrate the day that paved the way for the sorely needed reunification of a divided Germany.

Or did it? A 2004 Forsa Institute poll showed that one in five Germans want the wall to be rebuilt. There remain sharp cultural differences and even resentment between East and West; perhaps in large part due to what some call Mauer im Kopf—“the wall in the head.”

Meanwhile, countries like Yemen, Cyprus and Korea continue to experience extreme division between opposing factions. Tensions in the Middle East remain unresolved, as Palestinians and Israelis alike live with the constant threat of violence.

We can tear down physical walls; we can topple corrupt governments; we can even enforce rules that produce the ideal environment for cultivating peace—but how much closer are we to achieving it? Our world is one where the tensions between two closely related tribes can lead to genocide of over 800,000 people in Rwanda; where a war between two quarreling sides can bring about rape, pillaging and hundreds of thousands of deaths in Darfur; where feelings of racial superiority can lead to the slaughter of perhaps 17 million men, women and children in an international Holocaust.

Peace? No, we do not have peace. For six thousand years of recorded human history, man has striven for some kind of peace—and for six thousand years, it has eluded him. There is something fundamentally wrong in human nature that, despite our most well-intentioned efforts, continues to render useless every step we take toward it.

We will not have peace until we come to accept the facts that our failed attempts prove: We cannot change human nature. We cannot fix the problems we continue to create.

We cannot create peace.

But there is One who can. We read in the Bible, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:13-14, New International Version).

We can take down the physical walls, but until we allow God to take down the walls in our hearts, we will not have peace. God is not a respecter of persons; His way is a way of peace for all people everywhere.

Christ tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). If we as a people will turn to God, we will find peace—for ourselves, and for the world.

You can find real hope in the article, “Know Jesus, Know Peace.”

(A GN video commentary of this should be available Nov. 9 at www.gnmagazine.org/video/.)

Signs of Perilous Times: “Lovers of Themselves”

By guest blogger Whitney Smith

The apostle Paul warned Timothy of 19 conditions of the human heart that will signal the last days of human rule. His list in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 depicts a time period when men will commit such unrighteous acts that their character will be in complete defiance of God’s way.

Today let’s focus on the first phrase, “for men will be lovers of themselves” (verse 2). It identifies a mind-set that is rampant throughout the world today.

Being a lover of self is quite simply stated as being selfish. Selfishness can be seen in almost every area of life as people turn from having a genuine outgoing concern for others to becoming overly involved in their personal issues. What truly motivates people to commit acts of theft or adultery? The desire to gratify self.

Narcissism isn't just for the stars any more...

Selfishness is harbored inside those who focus on their own needs and attempt to find ways to gratify their own desires. The headlines about the sexual affairs of famous people and survey results showing increasing narcissism clearly indicate that selfishness is everywhere.

To avoid letting selfishness rub off on us, we must first recognize that it is constantly present around us. Only then can we direct our thinking away from this mind-set in order to live God’s way.

The complete reversal of a selfish mind would be to incorporate selflessness into our thinking. James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” This involves looking out for others and recognizing their needs.

Paul makes very clear which mind-set wins in the end—not selfishness, but selfless love. We are to be lovers of God and lovers of others, not solely focused on loving ourselves (Matthew 22:37-38). See “Love: the Ground From Which Spiritual Fruit Springs” for more about this antidote to selfishness.

3 Bible Tips: The Power of Encouragement

1. God’s promises should encourage us to hang on.

“God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us” (Hebrews 6:18, Contemporary English Version).

2. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.

There's power in encouragement!

“If your gift is to encourage others, do it!” (Romans 12:8, New Living Translation).

3. We should encourage and help people in the way they need help.

“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14, NLT).

For more about encouragement and being encouraging, see “Encouraging Words.”

What scriptures would you add?

Biblical Literature Being Translated Into Polish

Victor Kubik writes in the latest Nordic/Baltic/Eastern European Newsletter: “We are currently making an effort to make more of our literature available in the native language of the various countries in our region. Sofie Banham, a United Church of God member in Australia, will be helping to translate some of our material into Polish.

Currently four of the 20 UCG fundamental beliefs (“God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit,” “The Church,” “The Word of God” and “Satan, the Devil”) are available in Polish.

“The word of the Kingdom of God begins small—as a mustard seed, but we have expectations of effective growth in Polish content and its proliferation,” Mr. Kubik wrote.

You can see all the Eastern European literature on the United Church of God Web site at www.ucg.org/easteuropean.

EU Reform Finally Passes; What Next?

Lone holdout Czech President Václav Klaus signed the Lisbon Treaty today after the Czech constitutional court dismissed a last effort to derail the European reform treaty. Like Ireland, the Czech Republic received a special deal to end the delay. The Czech Republic received an opt-out from the human rights charter, “which Klaus said was necessary to shield the Czech Republic from property claims by ethnic Germans expelled after World War Two,” according to Reuters.

The Lisbon Treaty, like the failed constitution before it, was designed to streamline the government of the complicated 27-member European Union. It calls for a full-time president (along with a foreign minister), giving Europe a face and a unified, more powerful voice in the world. The treaty will likely take effect Dec. 1.

Who will the president be? Many names have been bandied about, as I mentioned in the post “A Single Face for Europe.” Most of the names are unfamiliar to American readers, except former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. But the BBC said today:

“After intense speculation about former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the front-runner to become the first EU Council president is the low-key Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband tipped as favourite for the second top job.”

I have no predictions, but I know it will be interesting to watch.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Bible prophecy indicates a group of 10 leaders will be instrumental in putting together an end-time revival of the Roman Empire. Exactly how this will happen remains a matter of speculation. But events in the EU bear watching.

For more background, see the May 2008 World News and Prophecy article “Who Will Be the Next Superpower?”

Crow’s Encounters: Lambo

I’ve finally made the big time! Fred Crow used my suggestion for “Lambo”!

I'll never be sheared again.

MGM Promoting and Rewarding Sin?

I’m torn about even writing about this new promotion by the MGM Grand encouraging people to tweet a sin on Twitter for the chance for a free night in Las Vegas. “Get Rewarded for Your Sins” is supposed to create “feel good buzz,” the advertising manager told Media Post News. But to me, it creates deep sadness and disgust. And shows me that I was wrong about a headline I wrote earlier this year.

“The Three-Letter Word No One Wants to Talk About” appeared in the April-June 2009 issue of Vertical Thought. I wrote, “Sin isn’t something most people talk about very much. Many churches don’t talk much about it either.” But apparently hotels in Sin City do, and in a positive way!

Many churches don't talk about sin, but apparently hotels in Sin City do...

What’s wrong with that? Making light of the cause of all this world’s suffering can do nothing good. Isn’t giving people a chance to feel good instead of guilt like telling children to go play on the highway?

Even though MGM may have tarnished my headline, I stand by the biblical explanation in the rest of my article. Sin isn’t a laughing matter.

What do you think?

Put on Christ, Not a Costume!

When you think of Halloween, you probably think of costumes. On Halloween, we see people, young and old, dressed in ghoulish, outlandish and even risqué costumes.

They even have weird and disturbing costumes for toddlers and babies. One site lists its 15 Weirdest Toddler Halloween Costumes, and I have to admit, many of them were pretty strange. Things like dressing your baby up as a Las Vegas showgirl or a pimp, as Hitler or Darth Vader, or even as an exploding body parts scene from the Alien movies or as a victim of an ax murderer. I don’t even want to imagine what the adult costumes are like.

Since I knew costumes would be a trending topic today, it got me thinking about a passage the apostle Paul wrote about what we put on—and what we should take off. His meaningful analogy shows how we can stop looking like the evil world around us and start looking more like Jesus Christ.

Paul used the analogy of changing clothes...

Stripping off filthy garments

Colossians 3:8-9 talks about the costume we humans naturally wear. “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.”

What a list! These describe the attitudes of hate, disrespect and deceit that Satan spews all over this world. He certainly doesn’t take off for Halloween, a day that celebrates evil, darkness, masquerades, charades and shenanigans. Paul tells us to “put off” these things, and the NIV Bible Commentary explains that the imagery “is that of putting off clothes—like stripping off from oneself a filthy garment.” We must take off the filthy uniform of this world, and stop doing the things that someone wearing that uniform would do.

An amazing change of clothes!

Paul continues by telling us what to put on—and why. Verse 10 says: “In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you” (New Living Translation throughout).

This new self is like a brand-new suit of clothing we are to put on. But it’s not like any clothing you have ever seen or heard of. These amazing clothes don’t wear out or decay, but are renewed every day. And they look more and more like their Creator! The Bible sometimes speaks of clothing as representing what is inside us spiritually, in our minds or hearts. This isn’t just an outward costume, but a complete commitment to become like Jesus Christ.

Verses 12-14 give details of the clothing we are to put on.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

Think about that description—who does it remind you of? Jesus Christ showed tenderhearted mercy and kindness to publicans and sinners, to the lame and the blind and to the parents who brought their children to be blessed. He showed humility and gentleness to the soldiers who beat and crucified Him, even though He could have called down fire on them. And He has shown incredible patience in dealing with me and you and every other human being.

Verse 13 continues: “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Again, Jesus Christ is the image we are striving to reflect. His forgiveness to me should be reflected in my forgiveness of others.

The most important piece

Then in verse 14: “And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

So as we step back from these verses, we see that God is clothing all in His Church with the same uniform, like a well-coordinated sports team or a symphony orchestra all wearing perfectly matched tuxedos. Since God is love, if we focus on loving each other and loving God, we will look more and more like God. Love is like an outer garment that covers and brings together all the other parts of our godly apparel.

So, when you see kids and adults dressed in weird and disturbing costumes, remember that God has called us to put off all that, and to instead put on Jesus Christ. We are to put on tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and over it all, love.

Then we will be continually looking more and more like Jesus Christ, and we’ll be dressing for true spiritual and eternal success in the Kingdom of God.

What do you say if someone asks why you don’t celebrate Halloween?

Question of the week: What do you say if someone asks you why you don’t celebrate Halloween?

Join the conversation!