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The Pastoral Lens
Sticks, Stones, and Nasty Names!
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Back when I was growing up (oh, c'mon now, it wasn't that long ago) there was a common phrase that was employed if other kids were mean and called you a bunch of names that weren't nice. It went like this: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." It had a nice ring to it and we used it devoutly in circumstances that deemed it necessary, but there was only one problem: it wasn't true. The fact of the matter is, names really do hurt a person. Used at the wrong place at the wrong time and one can be slapped with a lawsuit of slander or defamation of character. Jesus had another way of putting it, as recorded in Matthew 12:37: "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."I have been following a story that has been in the news lately in Major League Baseball circles. David Wells, a pitcher with the New York Yankees, has just written a book. In it, he talks about a lot of things that have happened behind clubhouse doors, things that should have stayed there, if you ask me. Apparently, he rants and raves against Toronto fans for the years he was in Toronto playing for the Blue Jays, complaining that the crowds there never really got into the games very much. Most Blue Jay fans (and I'm not one of them) would likely disagree with this man's criticism. Personally, I've been to some games over the years and the fans I was seated next to were anything but mousy and quiet. Furthermore, he criticized a couple of his own teammates with whom he still plays! Am I the only one out there that thinks that this just isn't the way to win friends and influence people? I mean, gimme a break, he has to live with these guys for the next 8 months under the scrutinizing eye of the New York media.
I received a further shock this week when Omar Vizquel (of my beloved Cleveland Indians, no less!) came out with a book and, yep, you guessed it, criticized one of his former teammates, someone who was a very good friend while the two were on the same team. The result was a verbal threat, of sorts (the criticized man has since recanted his earlier outburst). I think it may be a case of "too little, too late" though since the horses are already out of the barn.
Don't you just love it when some public figure, whether it be from the sporting world, government, or whatever, comes out with some horrible racial slur or blatant criticism but then recoils with a weak apology after public furor? They often claim that their choice of words were poorly chosen and didn't reflect their true feelings. I'm sorry, but Jesus would disagree. If you read Mark 7:18-23 you would find that Jesus explains that the words that come out of a person's mouth indeed show their true feelings. There's just no escaping it, folks, negative words hurt.
Perhaps we should rewrite the old phrase to say something like this: "Sticks and stones may cut the flesh, but words go to the heart." Have a good week and watch what you say!
