Righteous Priorities | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Free Newsletters:

RSS Feeds |

Audio |

Twitter

Home > 2007 > November (Web-only)

Christianity Today, November (Web-only), 2007 |

SoulWork

Righteous Priorities

Not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord'—or avoids slurs—will enter the Kingdom of Heaven

Mark Galli | posted 11/15/2007 08:55AM

2 of 2

Jesus said the socially incorrect son was the righteous one. The words we use to talk about others, and the promises we make to others—that is, how we use language—seems secondary to Jesus. It's what we do with our lives that counts. Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" (or avoids swearing or slurs), will enter the kingdom of heaven.

How we use language is crucial to the health of a society or a community; you're not going to find this writer denigrating the importance of the words we choose to utter. But when we become offended, hurt, or shocked by another's language while ignoring the manner in which they have actually lived their lives, we are looking at trees but missing the forest. When we're more worried about the words another uses than the deep-seated injustices and oppression in our midst, something has gone terribly wrong.

Jesus does not consider such behavior a peccadillo. In that extensive sermon in Matthew, he called people who do this sort of thing "children of hell" and "snakes," people who, he says, will receive a judgment that will not be pretty.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He is the author of Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God (Baker). You can comment below or on his blog.

Related Elsewhere:

Previous SoulWork columns are available on our site.

first page |

2 of 2

share this page

November (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51

E-mail this page

Write CT

Print this article

Post a comment

Reader Reviews are below

Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only.

If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

Click here for international orders

2-for-1 Gifts!

[Reader Reviews]

Average User Rating:

Displaying 1 - 3 of 23 comments.

See all comments

James

Posted: November 27, 2007 11:20 AM

I believe I understand the point Mr. Galli is making in his article. Nevertheless, words are important because it can reveal a person's heart condition. Just because someone gives money to a Black college or a special cause or lives a righteous life style outwardly still does not mean a person's inner person is in order or whether that person loves the Triune God of the Bible. Lying and using hurtful language toward an individual or a whole group of people surely is not Christ-like. Yes, we all have lapses at one time or another. The individuals you mentioned Dog the Bounty Hunter (a professing Christian with need of sound doctrine) and Don Immus (clearly a non-Christian) are clearly public figures who have definitely some persuasive power over their listeners. The bottomline: true followers of Chirst (called out of darkness by God the Father and placed into Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit) should have more self-control especially for those in which much have been given.

Rick	Posted: November 20, 2007 9:14 PM

The level of frustration and disappointment in America has reached the point many people are lashing out. I wonder where it will end. Many individuals are afraid of what they see and hear and feel no one or no institution is providing the leadership to lead us out of the pit we continue to dig. Perhaps it is out of our arrogance or belief in self, belief in government and institutions we find ourselves in this situation. God repeatedly in his word and throughout time has reminded us, have no fear, place no idols or false gods before him, trust only in him. A major mistake by the people of God was when Israel demanded a king, and what God said would happen did happen, and continues to happen. Having said that, we deserve good leadership in our government, our church, and our institutions and in our companies, and I believe the harshness of our voices reflects the grief of the failure of our leaders. It is time for change and for every Christian to communicate to our leaders and

D.Mitch

Posted: November 20, 2007 2:49 PM

I think I have never heard a racial slur used so often as between members of that race, it is this taking that identity and enclosing it that gives it power over oneself, I was veiwing a documentary about life in prison and one part was of the womens prison where they would call out to one another, "Hey Criminal," and yet again in a recovery house for drug addicts the use of "Hey Dope Fiend," the absorbtion of a particular identity will alter your perception of the world in way's that cannot be healthy, We continue to try and undermine the good works of our leaders by picking on them in way's we know would hurt us, and until they fall from position so we can walk away saying, see I told you there was fault, we will not feel good enough within, this is the illness of the human condition that makes us frail and vulnerable,

The allotted time for commenting has ended.