But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned - Matthew 12:36-37
We live in an age when we are so bombarded by expressions and figures of speech that we become unconsciously overwhelmed by them and unduly influenced. With the average household watching some five to six hours of television per day, much of it prime time sleaze, is it any wonder we and our children start talking like the irreverent ones we observe roll-playing on the tube? We pick up cutesy little phrases that roll off our tongues without thought. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I still have no idea what that means. Must be Yiddish or something of the sort. (I know what Yabba dabba dooooooo means.)
A reverend from out of town was talking to me on the phone hoping to get me to give some money to a friend of his just passing through. When I asked for some confirmation of who he was, and who the person in need of aid was, he said, My God, man, what is this, a trial or something? I asked him why a man of the cloth would take the Lord's name in vain. He proceeded to really show his temper. Expletives spewed forth like an erupting volcano. So much for that telephone scam. Nipped in the bud, as Barney would say.
Often I hear teens walking by the church house cry out, Oh My God! They have just discovered some new bit of gossip I presume. I don't think they're praying.
A lady won a few dollars on a country radio station and exploded with, Oh, my God! My God! I can't believe it. Oh, my God! The sound of such ill-advised and profane talk sickened my stomach. All I could do was turn off the radio. No wonder we are viewing television and listening to radio less and less.
Then as I was listening to a talk program a man suddenly exclaimed, Jesus Christ! Why don't you pay attention to what I'm saying? If he were trying to gain my attention, he lost it immediately with such vulgar obscenity. Living in a world of paganism, hedonism, and humanism, we are hardly shocked at this kind of daily blasphemy against the very one who created us in His image.
Have you noticed that among the impiety and filthy talk of the human race it seems to be open season on the biblical concept of God? When was the last time you heard someone say, Oh, my Buddha? When someone messes up at work or at school, do they cry out, Bob Hope or Mohammed? Never. If the name of the Lord our God can be blasphemed, it will be. And what troubles me most is that it is creeping into our own minds and mouths. I recently heard a Christian youth say, My God, with a parent standing within earshot and not a word of discipline or correction was offered. Why not? I think it may be from becoming so desensitized that we are hardly aware of how slowly we are becoming like the rest of the world. - Steven Clark Goad
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36 ).