What's the Worst Bad Word?

Hi Everyone-

I pray you are doing well and experiencing blessing in your lives.  I hope that you enjoy the blog, I certainly enjoy writing about these things, to the point that I literally have a page of quotes, notes, and ideas for future blogs on my iPad.

What's the worst bad word in your opinion?  I'm coming to think a "regular" word is actually one of the worst ...

In reading for a class the other day I came across this story about Carl Sundburg, a well-known historian, poet, and entertainer from years past:

A reporter interviewed him near the end of his life and asked, "What in your opinion is the ugliest word in the English language?"  Sundburg paused and repeated the question.  He sat silently, looked around and rephrased it.  After sitting for a while longer and letting some poetic tension build he said, "The ugliest word in the English language is ... exclusive."

As I reflect on the Gospels and the story of Jesus' life, I think He very much lived against the tendency us humans have to exclude.  Think about the Pharisees and religious leaders who frequently were at odds with Jesus.  What words would you use to describe them?  Legalistic?  Judgmental?  Hard-hearted?  I think perhaps the best word to sum them up was exclusive, and by contrast one of the best ways to sum Jesus up is inclusive.

Time and again Jesus was accused of, or looked down upon for, hanging out with the "bad" sort of people.  He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, unclean, etc.  He talked to and touched unclean foreigners.  Jesus accepted everyone for who they were, He included.  He didn't leave them the way they were, but He accepted them the way they were by including them right off the bat.  The religious leaders, on the other hand, excluded.  They were the chosen people who obeyed the laws and kept themselves clean.  So, they shunned, stayed away from, and prided themselves in NOT being like the "sinners".  They excluded.

Perhaps the epitome of this is the story of the Good Samaritan.  In it, the religious leaders shy away from the hurt man.  They don't want to become unclean, have to go out of their way, or spend their money, so they exclude him by walking on by.  The Samaritan, however, goes up to and lovingly takes care of the hurt fellow, he includes him.

I think this is one of the most fundamental things that Jesus calls anyone who follows Him to do.  Christ Followers and the Church are urged to strive to be as inclusive as possible.  Which isn't always easy.  Read Acts 10 as an excellent example.  God challenges Peter to include Gentiles and has to tell him three times to get the point across.  Peter's realization is summed up in Acts 10:28, "Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean."

What do you think?

Grace and peace,
Lang

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