The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Sybil Peachlum deserves to have her case heard. The court said that though the woman’s case has been before a Philadelphia appeals board for years, and a lower court had dismissed a lawsuit asking that she be allowed to keep an evangelistic yard sign, the case should be heard by a judge. Peachlum has been a frequent thorn in the side of city officials who want her to take down her lawn ornament. The ruling clears the way for a federal judge to decide if Peachlum can put the sign back up.

Local authorities contend Peachlum’s 3 1/2 by 5 foot yard sign of an anthropomorphized peach holding a newspaper with the headline, “Peachy News, Jesus is Alive” violates local zoning rules. Peachlum says banning the sign violates her right of free speech.

The sign first appeared as a holiday decoration. It was permanently anchored in cement in 1994. Peachlum added neon lights to illuminate the message at the same time. Unfortunately, her neighbors quickly decided that the big peach with neon lights was too tacky for the neighborhood.

Attorney Erik Stanley of the religious freedom group Liberty Counsel agrees that cities have the right to regulate signs. He says the First Amendment protects this display.

Stanley says, “The neon only gets turned on at Christmas and Easter. It’s not a glaring eyesore; it’s her way of reaching out to her neighbors with a message she wants to communicate. It’s no different than hanging an American flag on your property.”

—Associated Press, Court says Pennsylvania woman can sue over ban of Jesus sign, June 23, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Actually, I see both points of view in this story. Certainly, she has the right to free speech just like everyone else, but I wonder if her tactics are contraindicated for her message. Personally, I don’t think gaudy yard signs are the best way to proclaim the gospel. But then again, her way of proclaiming the gospel may be better than what most people do—nothing!

Matthew 10:18-20 NIV “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

The Police department in Shreveport Louisiana recently had to abandon their high-tech voice recognition equipment to route non-emergency calls, when they discovered the system keep routing callers to the wrong department. The voice-recognition system asked callers to name the person or department they wanted. More often than not, the system could not understand the caller and they wound up at the wrong place.

Capt John Dunn, who oversees police communications, says the problem is the Southern Drawl used in that part of the country. Dunn says, "In Louisiana, we have a problem with Southern Drawl and what I call lazy mouth. Because of that, the system often doesn't recognize what (callers) say."

Interim Police Chief of Shreveport, Mike Campbell experienced the problem first hand. He said, "I can count on one hand when I have been transferred to where I've wanted to go, and I know the system. I can imagine how frustrating it would be for a citizen."

—Associated Press, Southern Drawl beats recognition system, November 16, 2003.

Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

The coach of Vanderbilt University’s football is taking a new approach to winning. Bobby Johnson says he wants to mold gentlemen, not just win football games. This year Johnson has issued a “No-cussing” order.

The policy is not new for Johnson. He has worked with football programs for the past 25 years, eight as head coach at Furman University. Johnson says, “ We’ve done that everywhere I’ve coached.” The coach also requires players to keep their hair neatly cropped.

Players who break the rule pay a price. For each foul word, a player must perform 10 “up-downs,” a drill in which the person must run in place, drop flat to the ground, then jump up and start the series again. Senior cornerback Rushen Jones says a lot of players had sore arms at the beginning of practice, but they are learning to watch their language.

Other players say the ban on cussing might mean more victories since it involves both the psychological and sociological aspects of developing a team. Vanderbilt players say they would welcome any strategy that help them avoid a twentieth straight losing season.

—www.azcentral.com, August 29, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Colossians 4:6 NASB “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were. With salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

A driver who told a parking attendant “You are nobody!” has felt the weight of the Italian legal system. The courts ruled that the seemingly innocuous words constituted slander and fined the man 300 euros, the equivalent of $370 US dollars. They tacked on another 500 euros in court costs, when a higher court turned down his appeal.

The affair started as a disagreement over a parking space. During the ensuing argument, the man told the attendant that he was a nobody. The attendant sued, and the courts ruled that the phrase, “you are a nobody” "means precisely 'you are a nonentity' and to state that a person is a nonentity is certainly offensive because it is damaging to the dignity of a person."

Under Italian Law, the crime of slander is punishable by a maximum fine of 516 euros.

—Reuters, 'You are Nobody!' Is Slander, Friday, July 9, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

James 3:8-9 (NASB) “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. [9] With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;”

Using foul language on the job could keep you from getting a raise or promotion, according to CareerBuilder, who surveyed employers and asked them how they responded when an employee cursed while on the clock. Sixty-four percent said they would think less of an employee who repeatedly used foul language in the workplace, and fifty-seven percent said they would be less likely to promote someone who swore in the office. The employers said using inappropriate language called the employee’s professionalism into question, and raised concerns over a lack of self control. Some said that kind of language demonstrated a lack of maturity and made the individual look less intelligent.

There could be a little bit of hypocrisy associated with the issue. While a large percentage of employers said they thought less of an employee who swore in the workplace, one in four admitted they had sworn at employee and coworkers. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Swearing at Work Can Harm Your Career Prospects, Finds CareerBuilder Survey, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/swearing-at-work- can-harm-your-career-prospects-finds-careerbuilder-survey-163665026.html; Accessed July 25, 2012.

James 1:26 (HCSB) If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

CareerBuilder.com completed a survey that found fifty seven percent of employers who said they’d be less likely to promote someone who curses. Sixty four percent think less of an employee who habitually swears.

The words from our lips tell a lot about our heart condition. After his cursing, the people outside the court didn’t accuse Peter of being with Jesus again. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Matthew 26:74 (HCSB) “Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed,”

A recent Japanese study found that compliments can help improve student and employee performance as much as monetary rewards. “To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money,” said researcher Norihiro Sadato.

We can never underestimate the power of the words we use when speaking to one another. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Ephesians 4:29 (HCSB) “No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.”

A study by the University of Illinois has found that Christians are happier and more socially connected than atheists are on Twitter. The team that produced the study says they looked at data from almost 2 million tweets from 16,000 users, and looked specifically at the differences in the way the two groups used natural language. They found that users who identified themselves as being Christians used more positive emotion and fewer words conveying negative emotions that those who identified themselves as atheists. They study also found that believers tended to be more connected and tended to talk more about social processes, which is also connected with happiness. The researcher acknowledged that since they selected more conservative Christians and militant atheist in the study, the result may be exaggerated. The research team wrote,” Overall, the present research demonstrates a positive relationship between religion and happiness that can be observed in the subtle differences in language use.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Christians Are Happier, More Socially Connected Than Atheists, Twitter Study Reveals, by Stoyan Zaimov, http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-are-happier-more-socially-connected-than-atheists-twitter-study-reveals-98526, Accessed June 21, 2013.

Mark 15:18 (CEV) (18) They made fun of Jesus and shouted, "Hey, you king of the Jews!"

An official in the Vatican says Jesus was a master communicator, and could easily be called the world’s first tweeter. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican’s equivalent of a Culture Minister, believes that if a pastor or other believer is not interested in communication, they are defying their duty. Ravasi says Jesus used a lot of phrases making important points with fewer than 45 characters. Phrases like “Love one another,” would be a perfect fit for social media like Twitter. The cardinal emphasized the importance of using modern computer technology to spread the Gospel. He said, “A bit like in television today, (Jesus) delivered a message through a story or a symbol.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2433077/Jesus-did-Twitter-claims-Cardinal-Ravasi-Christs-sermons-brief-meaning.html (accessed Oct 27, 2013)

Luke 21:33 (NASB) "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

A public opinion poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion surveyed a number of adults and found that there is one word that annoys Americans more than any other. The casual “whatever” was rated as “most annoying” by 38 percent of those who responded to the survey. Pollsters said that was actually up 32 percent from the previous year’s survey. Even more, “whatever” has topped the chart of annoying words for the last five years running. Media director for Marist, Mary Griffith says they conduct the annual poll to keep up with popular culture. Along with “whatever,” Americans also do not like the word, “like,” followed by the term, “you know.” A little further down on the annoying scale were the phrases” just sayin” and “obviously.” Griffith said poll about annoying words is enlightening. In regards to “whatever,” she said, ”The word can be very dismissive and rude. It’s a put-down to some extent and it can signal to the other person that what they are saying is not important.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

This is the word that annoys Americans the most, By Kevin Murphy, Kevin Murphy of http://news.msn.com/offbeat/this-is-the-word-that-annoys-americans-the-most, Accessed December 19, 2013.

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Cities have tried to outlaw profanity, and now a study conducted by CareerBuilder has found that cursing and using profanity is common everywhere, including the workplace. The survey found that more than half the polled said they swore while on the job. Of those, 95 percent admitted that they used profanity in front of co-workers, and more than half said they had cursed within earshot of their supervisors. Even supervisors admitted that they often used profanity directed toward employees. The study found that using profanity in the workplace is a bad idea. 64% of employers said they think less of an employee who repeatedly swears on the job, and 57 percent said they would less likely to promote that person. Author June Moore has written several books on etiquette and says kids who use profanity may struggle as adults. When asked about the CareerBuilder survey, Moore said, “They may never know their bad language is why they didn’t get hired or didn’t get a promotion. Curse words are not respectful to anyone, and they do nothing to help a person gain respect.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Curbing Cursing Not Easy in Today's Culture, by Christina Quick, http://ag.org/top/News/index_articledetail.cfm?targetBay=c97d4d5c-a325-4921-9a9e-e9fbddd9cdce&ModID=2&Process= DisplayArticle&RSS_RSSContentID=27359&RSS_OriginatingChannelID=1184&RSS_OriginatingRSSFeedID=3359&RSS_Source, Accessed January 29, 2014.

Colossians 4:6 (ESV) (6) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

During a sermon about Christian unity, Florida pastor Zach Zehnder spoke about rules that tend to divide Christians — drinking, smoking, and getting tattoos. In an offhanded remark, he told his assembled congregants during a sermon that he would pay them to get tattoos of the church’s colorful cross logo. A dozen congregants surprised him when they took him up on the promise.

“I was saying it flippantly,” Zehnder told The New York Daily News. “I never thought this was going to happen. It’s kind of crazy.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-pastor-offers-pay-parishioners-tattoos-article

Words matter! We must be careful how we speak— even if in jest. The consequences of our unbridled speech may not be what we intended. –Jim L. Wilson and Larry Blair

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

The city commission in Grand Rapids Michigan has decided to remove a 38 year-old section of the city code that forbids a person from willfully annoying someone else. The city attorney Catherine Mish has been going through the city’s books to find outdated ordinances and remove them. She found laws prohibiting people from riding horses on a public sidewalk and another that allowed jail time for failing to return a library book. Mish said she recommended repealing the statue about annoying people because the wording was” unconstitutional in terms of being vague” and “simply unenforceable” She noted that while this law was removed other related laws such as obstructing someone in a public place or assault were still on the books.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

City to Strike Ban on Being Willfully Annoying, http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/city-strike-ban-willfully-annoying-22764942; Accessed March 4, 2014.

Ephesians 4:29 (HCSB) No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

When nine-year-old Nolan Rogers stumbled across a letter in a glass bottle on an island in the middle of a lake, he imagined it might be a note from pirates. The truth about the letter turned out to be more than he could have imagined. The words inside were written on half a paper towel and were addressed to Roger’s grandfather. It said “I love you so much,” and was signed Diane. Roger’s mother Viki recognized the signature and sent a picture of it to her friend Diane Bryant. When Bryant saw it, she remembered writing those words to Roger’s paternal grandfather 45 years earlier. Bryant said she loved to romanticize as a teen and had sent this note floating on the lake. She admitted she wondered if anyone had ever found it. She said she knew one day, Rogers would see it, but didn’t imagine it would take so long. The elder Rogers said,” The more you think about it, the more it blows your mind. There’s got to be some meaning to this.”--Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Boy finds love letter written by Mom’s friend for Grandpa.
http://abc7.com/family/boy-finds-45-year-old-love-letter-addressed-to-grandpa/569629/ , Accessed March 23, 2015.

Psalm 19:14 (HCSB) May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Google and computer scientists at Stanford University conducted a study of words used for security questions for online accounts found that many supposedly secure words are a lot less secure than people think. They found hackers could probably guess the answers with ease. For example, a hacker would have a 20% chance of guessing the right answer by answering “pizza” to the question “What’s your favorite food?” Given ten guesses would give an attacker a 21% chance of guessing a Spanish-speakers’ father’s middle name.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Pizza! Bad answer for your security question, By Elizabeth Wise,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/05/21/google-security-question-pizza/27683007/, Accessed may 21, 2015.

Being able to predict a word 20% of the time is impressive, but some words you can count on 100% of the time.

Luke 21:33 (HCSB) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Audrey Hepburn said, “You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.” We should work to continually hold one another in honor. -- Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/11580796/Audrey-Hepburn-19-of-her-most-inspirational-quotes.html?frame=3290425

Romans 12:10 (HCSB) Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.

The seal of the United States of America reflects the early inception of the country and its subsequent history. In its design, the motto E Pluribus Unum, out of many, one. It has been understood to mean that the thirteen colonies became one nation. This has evolved to mean, that out of many peoples, races, religions, languages, and ancestries has emerged a single nation. The symbol signifies that a melting pot of disenfranchised, indebted, and expatriated people have now found a home.

The standard of the insignia may remain the same but the men who have held the role of president have not always lived up to the insignias standard. One such individual casts a long dark shadow. In light of the seal and what the presidency stands for it is difficult to include FDR’s presidency but his turning a blind eye and remaining silent to one of the greatest human tragedies unfortunately affords him this distinction. Franklin D. Roosevelt has been considered in high regard for many decades. His list of achievements include ending the Depression, winning WWII, establishing Social Security, establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission, and finally the endorsement for the formation of the United Nations.

While those achievements give reason to attribute high honors, recent historians have discovered that in fact Roosevelt remained silent to the holocaust. His reasoning has become more evident in light of some digging on the part of historians. FDR was not sympathetic to the plight of the Jews. An indicator of his beliefs was that he did not inform the American people of Hitler’s ‘Final Solution.’ He also did not provide safe harbor for Jews or their children. Roosevelt is also being cited for saying that he understood the complaint of the Germans towards the Jews. While his achievements are numerous lives lost due to the Holocaust tarnish its luster. --Jim L. Wilson and Darius Holland

Esther 4:14 (HCSB) If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

New research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology has found that being rude is contagious. Researchers tracked 90 graduate business school students and found that if they rated someone they interacted with a rude, they were also more likely to be judged as rude by someone else. The researcher also found that the reaction seemed to be more automatic and that the people did not much control over the spread of rude behavior. Lead author Trevor Foulk said that the research found the contagious effect took place in the subconscious part of the brain, so the subjects didn’t know it was happening and could not do much to stop it. He said the best solution was to make an effort not to rude in the first place and always try to communicate as clearly as possible. Foulk said, “Our results suggest that what is happening is that prior rudeness is biasing people’s interpretation of future events to towards rudeness. In order for a bias to have an effect, there must be ambiguity in a message. Messages that are completely clear won’t be subject to bias.”—Jim L. Wilson and by Jim Sandell

Workplace Rudeness Spreads Like a Virus, Study Finds, By Lindsey Murray,
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/workplace-rudeness-spreads-virus-study-finds/story?id=33088836, Accessed August 17, 2015.

James 5:12 (NASB) “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.”

A teenager from Maine got unexpected news when she received a handwritten letter from a Spanish fisherman telling her that he found a message she placed in a bottle. Terra Gallo and her sister put messages into bottles and threw them into the ocean while visiting their Aunt in Spain three years earlier. They had forgotten about the bottle until they were surprised by the letter. Gallo had studied maps of ocean currents and calculated that her message had traveled almost 3000 miles. She had asked whoever found her message to put a message of their own inside and send the bottle back out to sea.–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Colossians 4:16 (HCSB)“When this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.”

According to a new study of 1,500 Americans conducted by work management platform Wrike, more than 40 percent of millennials say that they would prefer to work in an environment where colleagues swear. Most of those believe that cursing can help strengthen a team. Not surprising then that about two-thirds of Millennial employees swear at work. About three-quarters of female millennial managers and executives admitted to swearing at work.

We are watching the disintegration of respectful culture right before our eyes. Would that we would remember the scriptural beauty of honoring and respecting others with the words that proceed from our mouths. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-10/eff-millennials-this-generation-is-most-likely-to-swear-at-work

Colossians 3:8 (HCSB) “But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.”

People can be careless and hostile with words - particularly online in social media. A recent article commented that online “bullies” have a sense of safety from retribution by hiding behind their computer screen. How do we combat such negativity? Have we become desensitized to the needs and struggles of others? When will we learn that what happens in an online community has ripple effects on our lives? The internet has made our world smaller, but we have not become more communal as a result. Why are we so short on kindness, but quick to judge and criticize? —Jim L. Wilson & Stephen Hayes

Proverbs 17:22 (HCSB) “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

Rudeness is like a contagious illness. It spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold says author Danny Wallace. Wallace researched the prevalence of rudeness in our online society and discovered a ridiculous amount of strange acts of revenge, from rubbing fries on a person’s windshield to sabotaging them at work.

Wallace says we must combat rudeness head on, but “we must do it with grace, handling it without a trace of aggression and without being rude ourselves. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that strain themselves.”

In an ever more rude civilization we need to combat it with the attitude we find in scripture. The instruction of Ephesians 4 is a good place to start. –Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

A kayaker who found a 30-year-old message in a bottle was finally able to find the original authors. Angi Webb, who owns Pearl River Kayak, found the message floating in the Pearl River in Mississippi. The note was from two boys, Tony and Chris Taylor aged 4 and 2 years old. It said, “We hope somebody finds this bottle. We love you and God loves you!” Webb posted some photos to her business’s social media page and tried to locate the family. She discovered that the family members live in Tennessee and they contacted her after a news story about the bottle aired. The boys said their mother helped them write the note, which was dated February, 1989. Webb invited the entire family to celebrate the return of their message by going kayaking with her in the summer.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

State officials and local media said a newly elected judge in Houston may have accidentally resigned after he shared plans to run for the state supreme court. Harris County Civil Court Judge Bill McLeod was apparently unaware that the Texas constitution considers any announcement about running for office as an automatic resignation for any current elected position the person holds. The supporters of the judge have organized a campaign to save McLeod’s position. They plan to attend a County commission meeting and express their wish that the judge retain his office despite the blunder. A County Attorney said it is likely Commissioners could appoint McLeod to the office until a special election can be held. McLeod won the race for the court winning 55 percent of the vote.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

https://news.yahoo.com/texas-civil-court-judge-accidentally-resigns-150220214.html

2 Timothy 2:16 (CSB)“Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness,”

The social networking app Nextdoor has added a new feature to remind neighbors to post kind comments. The Kindness Reminder is designed to convince people from posting mean comments. The feature previews comments before posting. If the post is too much like one that’s been flagged in the past, the app prompts the user to edit their response and provides a link to the community guidelines. Nextdoor has a reputation for petty and mean by users. Nextdoor said the technology uses machine learning to analyze previous comments and then suggest making changes. The app reminder asks users if they would like to rephrase their reply, even though they are free to publish what they like. The company has redesigned the “Edit reply” button to make it more appealing to the eye, and said they have seen a significant number of users chose to edit their comments before posting. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Two young boys found a glass bottle on the bank of the Neches River in Beaumont, Texas with a note inside containing a man’s address dated 1989. When the boys tried to contact the man, they discovered the address did not exist. At first, they were puzzled, but a longtime Postal Service employee helped them connect. The carrier told them that they address no longer existed, but the home on the site was still there and the same family still lived there. When they boys contacted the author of the message, Charles McGallion, they learned that McGallion and his sons frequently used sheets of paper in bottles as markers when they were out fishing along the Neches River 30 years ago. The young fisherman had discovered a message left behind 31 years earlier. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/06/16/Message-in-a-bottle-mystery-solved-in-Texas/2531592332498/

1 John 1:5 (CSB) “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.”

A group of musicians and scientists sent a message into space, hoping to communicate with intelligent life on a distant planet. The project, known as Sonar Calling GJ 273b was aimed at a nearby exoplanet named GJ 273b. Scientists believe the planet is a “Super Earth” and may be the home of intelligent life because it is slightly bigger than Earth and located within the habitable zone of its star. The radio message consists of 33 musical pieces about 10 seconds in length, a tutorial on how humans measure time, and then an explanation on when we will be listening for a response. This is the first radio message designed for a direct response at a specific time. Astronomers said the planet orbits a star 12 light years away, so if intelligent life responds, first contact would be around the year 2044. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/sonar-calling-campaign-broadcasts-music-messages-alien-super-earth/

But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

The Virginia legislature formally repealed a 1792 law banning profane swearing. A law that probably has not been enforced in over 100 years is a good candidate for repeal. What is interesting though is the prohibition it left standing. Public spitting is still illegal. So how does a deliberative body choose to legalizing swearing while continuing to ban spitting. One lawmaker explained, “Spitting is yucky.”

Neither swearing nor spitting has much appeal to a person trying to live a life of Glory to God. Perhaps it is best we keep to our own preferences rather than those of a legislature. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

SPEECH

A couple hiking in northeastern France found an unusual artifact, carrier pigeon message dating from 110 years earlier. Jade Halaoui said he and a friend were hiking in the Ingersheim when they spotted a tiny aluminum cylinder on the ground. They dug it up and found a small piece of paper inside with a message they could not read. They took it to a museum, where the curator enlisted a friend who spoke German to decipher the message. It was dated July 16, 1910 and written by a Prussian officer explaining details of military drills in the area when Alsace was under German control. The curator, Dominique Jardy, said it is likely that a carrier pigeon dropped the aluminum capsule and the message was never delivered to the intended recipient. He said the discovery is extremely rare. Jardy said the discovery will be placed on display in the museum. He added, “It’s really exceptional.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/11/09/Hikers-find-message-dropped-by-carrier-pigeon-in-1910/5771604953973/

Proverbs 25:11 (CSB)

A word spoken at the right time

is like gold apples in silver settings.

When Stephen A. Smith came under fire for his insensitive remarks about Major League Baseball pitching and hitting phenomenon Shohei Ohtani, he did not make excuses. Instead, he said, “I was wrong, period.”

As a black man, Smith has been on the other side of racism and is an outspoken critic of racist thought and behavior. However, this time, he was the offending party. Smith said that his words were “inexcusable,” and acknowledged that he “contributed to the ongoing hate against the Asian and Asian American community.”

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.

The average person speaks about 16,000 words in a day. The less chatty speaking only 700 words with the most talkative topping out at 47,000 words a day.

Words are so common, and so easy to manufacture that the importance of a single word can easily be lost in the sheer volume of words spoken or heard in a single day. How important is a word?

--Ask a patient sitting in an examination room waiting for the doctor to explain the test results.

I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.

A bridle bit will weigh between one and two pounds, yet a rider can direct an 1800-pound horse with it.

Small things can have power over things that are exponentially larger than they are.

Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies.

So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.

Though it sank years ago, the Titanic continues to capture people’s imagination—especially as they speculate on how the disaster could have been avoided. Captain Charles B. Weeks studied the relative size its rudder to the hull to determine if a larger rudder would have made a difference. There are different ways to calculate the appropriate relative size, but one rule of thumb that is easy to remember is that a rudder is roughly 2% of the size of the ship’s hull.

Weeks found that “. . . [the] Titanic's rudder would be very slightly too small. In each case, the amount the rudder is too small is minor, so it probably didn't influence the outcome significantly.”

The rudder is a fascinating thing, though it is only 2% the size of the hull it can steer the entire ship. In the same way, the tongue is small, but it has disproportionate power.

And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.

In an article for The Good Men Project, Pamela Nikodem addresses what to do when sarcasm is on the tip of our tongues. Instead of indulging ourselves with the short-lived satisfaction of unleashing our anger disguised as wit, she offers the following advice, “The next time a witty thought shows up, challenge it with is it right, good, true, honest, and worthy to share with others. If each of us takes the time to monitor our thinking, we might be able to shift the negative energy in this world, or at least our area of the world and create a more peaceful, less sarcastically harsh landscape of thinking.”

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.

When people make sarcastic remarks, they say one thing, that if taken at face value has the exact opposite meaning that they wish to convey. For instance, they may say, “nice going” when someone makes a blunder. Many times, it is a light-hearted way to take the edge off a criticism that encourages everyone to laugh at their mistakes. Other times it is mean-spirited and intended to cut and inflict pain.

Viewing the world through the innocence of a child’s eyes can supply some helpful insight to complex issues like sarcasm. Penny Pexman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Calgary says, “When children do begin to understand that the speaker doesn’t actually mean what they said, they may think the speaker is lying — perhaps saying ‘nice going’ to make someone feel better — rather than criticizing sarcastically.”

With Pexman’s analysis, the innocence of the child is still intact—the children see the deception as a way to keep from hurting the feelings of the person being criticized. While finding a way to criticize in a gentle way is noble, there is a type of sarcasm that unleashes anger from behind a shield of humor.

A recent meta-analysis from UC Riverside found that “the average person spends 52 minutes per day gossiping,” but that of that time only 15% of the gossip “is negative while the remaining 10% is positive or flattering.” The other 75% is neutral.

People tend to gossip, that is, they talk about the people in their lives, when they are not present. Most of the conversation they have about others is harmless. Some is flattering, but the typical person is spending almost 8 minutes a day speaking negatively of others.

For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

A study from the University of Central Florida found that keeping a gratitude journal for two weeks decreased gossip in the workplace. The participants in the study spent a few minutes each day writing about people they were grateful for. Writing for Psychology Today, Christopher Bergland said, “After company-wide participation in this gratitude intervention, employees self-reported a noticeable reduction in rude, gossipy, and ostracizing behaviors among their co-workers.”

Why do people gossip? Nicholas DiFonzo, Professor of Psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology says “This last desire informs us of perhaps the nastiest motive in gossip, moral rationalization-that feeling of glee to learn that someone else is worse than we are. Relatively speaking, we must be alright then.”

No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

9-year-old Abbie Graham was visiting Hawaiian Paradise Park with her parents and sister when she found a dirty glass bottle on the beach. Her parents said they thought it was just trash when they first saw it, but when they opened it, they discovered a message inside. The note was written by a Natural Science club in Japan and said they had thrown the bottle into the sea off the coast of Choshi in July 1984. The note asked the persons who found it to contact the club because it was part of an experiment researching ocean currents. The girl’s parents said they have not been able to contact the group, because their website is in Japanese, and they cannot tell if the group still exists. Abbie’s father, John Graham, said they will laminate the message and send it to the school at the address in the note. He added,” We figure the people who sent it have got to be 50, 55 years old by now.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/07/14/message-bottle-Japan-Hawaii-Abbie-Graham/6531626290360/

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Pam Joy of Skagway Alaska was walking on the beach when she spotted a bottle with a group of washed-up logs, branches, and other debris. Joy opened the bottle and found a message written on a sheet of paper. It said, “Happy New Year 1987!” The message was not signed, and there was no indication where the bottle was launched or who launched it. Joy was intrigued and has been trying to get more information about the message. She said she is not sure it was local or if it came from Australia. She hopes one day, she can find the person who sent it. She said, “I really wish that I had some way to identify who it was or how far it’s come and where it came from. I would like to be able to let the person know who wrote this that I found it where I found it.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/11/03/message-bottle-Dyea-flats-Alaska/3851635970641/

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.