Today I remember my mother. As a woman of tolerance, she could put up with a lot of things she did not agree with. But there was one thing she could not tolerate and that was bad language. It wasn’t just that she did not like hearing obscene and crude language. For her language was important. And so, she believed that people who constantly resorted to the use of the f-word, for example, revealed their ignorance and lack of imagination. They had lost the ability to find new and diverse adjectives to give colorful but appropriate expression to their anger or frustration.
Beyond that, however, the disrespectful use of the name of Jesus was an absolute “no-no” in our family home. Look out, for you would earn her wrath if you casually used the name of Jesus to express anger or disgust. For her, it was also sad to see how, over the years, television programs and movies resorted so regularly to the use of not just bad language but also the abuse of sacred language. Let us pray that we can have the courage and proper sense of responsibility to show respect for the name of Jesus as it is still a name that is sacred to many of us who believe Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.