In the Army we have this way of degrading somebody while using complimentary words. An example would be: "Oh that guy, hes a real Hero!" or " It's hard visualize when written out, but the inflection on the word hero is such that, instead of visions of firemen saving folks from burning buildings, you see the place kicker miss the winning field goal from 10yards out.
I think there is a tendency to do this even more as Christians. We are supposed to be edifying, kind, and all that jazz, so we feel bad running around calling people idiots (even if they are). Instead we dress up what we are really feeling with phrases like, "in Christian love", "I don't want to gossip, but...", and the like. One of my all time favorites is the Pray4, as in, "pray for so-and-so as he is really struggling with not being a moron....".
If I am truly supposed to be edifying and kind and build people up, I don't think that dropping the pray4 is going to get me there. People say and do stupid things, I say and do stupid things, and I think its ok to say, "hey man, that was dumb". The point is telling them upfront, in a way that makes it clear that their decision could have been improved upon, while maybe not the gentlest method, is definitely kinder than dropping the pray4 on them in the middle of chapel service, or calling them Hero when you really mean Zero.
If I have written anything stupid so far, shoot me a "hey man" or post a comment.
email cptjosh at: josh_walt@hotmail.com
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