I drove past a church last week. I know that really is not news considering I live in the Deep South where there is almost literally a church on every corner in the towns and cities. Some churches have signs where they post little messages. You know the ones. Like “What’s missing from ch_ _ rch? u r.” Church signs often bring humor to those of us with a sarcastic bent. I am guilty of this, and I know sarcasm is not a virtue.
But the church sign I saw last week at first made me tilt my head in confusion, but then quickly turned to frustration.
If the bible tells us to watch our tongues is it not just as important for churches to use extreme caution when speaking words through a sign for their community to see? Should not all our words be life giving?
For me saying something is being recalled means it is defective. Is that the message we want to send to people? That their manufacturer made them defective? Are we not created in His image? Are we not fearfully and wonderfully made? No, none of us are perfect. But isn’t saying we are all defective discouraging instead of encouraging?
People do not often realize the impact their words have. I am guilty of this each and every day. I am sure the person at this church responsible for the sign had the best of intentions and simply wanted to encourage people to visit.
As I’ve thought and written about this my frustration simply turned to resignation.
Tearing others down never helps, especially when those words come from a church.
