Christianese is a language unto itself kind of like Klingon or Wookie or Justin Bieber lyrics. No one really understands it except other Christians. The problem is that we use the language with non Christians and it can really freak them out or alienate them. Sometimes in the office, a couple of the nerdier peeps I work with, and they know who they are, will talk about playing Starcraft. I think they’re good at the game. I say “I think” because I have no idea what they’re talking about. I’ve never played Starcraft. And if I walk up on a conversation, I quickly get lost and walk away dejected. I just don’t get the intrigue or pull.
I think the same can be said when we use Christianese with people that aren’t Christ followers. And there are three statements we use that especially drive me nuts. I got thinking about it the other day when I heard someone talking at a meeting and they dropped a Christianese bomb, a C-bomb. I wanted to laugh but it wouldn’t have been appropriate.
Christianese Phrase O’ Frustration #1: “I’ll pray for you.” We throw that one out a lot. We hear a someone tell us a story of woe and that seems to be our go to response. I refuse to use it. It’s not that I won’t pray for them. But maybe that’s not what they’re looking for. Maybe they just want to be heard. Maybe they don’t understand the power of prayer and makes no sense that they just laid out their pain and we give a trite answer. If I’m going to pray for someone, I’m not going to say, “I’ll pray for you.” Why should I wait till later? If I feel that’s the step I need to take, I’ll offer to pray right then. Right there. If I’m not willing to do that, I will listen and keep my mouth shut.
Christianese Phrase O’ Frustration #2: Ending my emails in “In Him” or some other spiritual ending. Once again, there are times when that salutation might be appropriate, but to set that as my default signature is just plain silly. Because now when I forward you YouTube cat videos I somehow am trying to let you know that I’m sending this to you “In Him.” I think God loves cats. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure He does. But I’m also sure I’m not sending you the cat video in Christ’s name. Or responding to your lunch invitation. Or bulk emailing pictures of my children.
Christianese Phrase O’ Frustration #3: Referring to pre-marital sex, homosexuality, or any other complexity of sexuality as “living in sin.” This one really irks me on so many levels. It escalates sex to a level of sinfulness that is somehow ranked higher than other sins. When someone doesn’t pay taxes; when someone cheats to get ahead; when someone takes out another credit card to go further in debt…we don’t refer to these situations as “living in sin.” We just refer to them as situations. But somehow when sex is involved, all of a sudden “they’re in sin.” Aren’t these other situations sinful? Aren’t we all living in sin? So why do we assign a label to these sexual situations? All we do is alienate and confuse. Do I believe these are sinful situations? Absolutely. Do I think we need to escalate them and make people less valuable because of the decisions they’ve made? Absolutely not.
I know that I need to watch what I say to people. How I say it. How it might be perceived. I need to make sure I don’t write emails when I’m angry or can’t sleep. Nothing good can come of that. But I also need to watch what I say as a follower of Christ. How I use language when talking with others that aren’t Christians. I need to make sure I use language that is understandable. That isn’t trite. That doesn’t label. If I don’t, I’ll lose the opportunity to share the most amazing stories ever because they will walk away confused and frustrated. So if you’ll just pray for me as I navigate this, I’d appreciate it!
