Don’t Quote Me on This
I’m annoyed.
I’m annoyed by the habits of society at large. Maybe it’s because we’re a tweetable culture and there are so many good tweets out there. But at some point, this plethora of words becomes cheap. Disposable. Meaningless. Many Bible verses have become this way to me; made cliché by verse-riddled magnets, bracelets, and pictures of kittens in a basket.
Instead of dwelling on potentially life-giving words; instead of mulling them over and fusing them with my soul, I wrinkle my nose with disdain when I see them. (Like when I pass a store display and notice a $9.99 plastic food carrier with a Psalm slapped on the cover.) Or, I’m in a hurry to tweet them. To show how cool I am for re-discovering this amazing string of wisdom. And the words—the very words I’m supposed to be living my life by—never penetrate my overly-stimulated shell.
Not good. Not good at all.
I’m not upset about the clichés because I’m some sort of elitist snob. I am a walking, talking bag of clichés, so I’m not allowed to call the kettle black. No. I’m upset because the words that should mean something to me no longer do. Yet, while I’m not totally sure how to change that fact, I’m still going to try.
How about you? Are there any once-powerful words that have become cliché?
In my own life I found that when I was reading scripture I wasn’t really reading it. It had become so familiar to me that the words didn’t penetrate my mind, let alone my heart. Now I try to read from different translations of the Bible. I love those that are radically different than the one I usually read because sometimes the language shocks me. I see “the same old verse” in a completely new way and it sinks deep into my mind and heart!
Thanks for sharing Josie. 🙂
This always bothers me too because you’re right…it cheapens the meaning. My least favorites are “Let Go & Let God” & when people say “Have a Blessed day” b/c although they mean well, it trivializes God’s will, in my humble opinion 😉 Sometimes you miss the lesson if you check out & “let God” or only want blessings. Insightful post as always!
Allison, you rock! I’m always uncomfortable responding to the “have a blessed day” line. It’s a preemptive Jesus Juke. I refuse to say it back out of principle but any other response I give feels like I’m saying “I hope you rip your jeans today.”