{"id":8491,"date":"2021-10-18T10:13:34","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T14:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2021-10-18T13:35:55","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T17:35:55","slug":"the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/","title":{"rendered":"The High Price of Coarse Jesting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo<\/a> by Travis AFB<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

\n

One of the more unfortunate stories to emerge from our culture last week was the resignation of Jon Gruden, coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after the media released details of private e-mails between Gruden and league associates that included slurs against black, female, and gay players, referees, owners, and league officials. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a frequent recipient of Gruden\u2019s ire, instructed his staff to review 650,000 e-mails as part of a workplace misconduct investigation. After Gruden\u2019s comments came to light, Goodell sent samples to the Raiders just prior to Gruden\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

Gruden\u2019s fall was spectacular, given his Super Bowl victory with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, a successful career as an analyst with ESPN, and his 10-year, $100 million contract with the Raiders. He said in his resignation statement that he \u201cnever meant to hurt anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Clear Command<\/h2>\n

Followers of Christ can learn important lessons from this stunning series of events. Paul told the Ephesians; \u201cthere must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks<\/em>\u201d (Ephesians 5:4). Each of us would be wise to ask if we speak in certain ways to select people that denigrates others in an attempt to be humorous or clever. Coarse jesting has no place among the children of God.<\/p>\n

Some might argue that these were private e-mails and that Goodell was simply being vindictive to release them. Christians should remember that the terms \u201cprivate\u201d and \u201celectronic\u201d do not coexist. Our pastoral staff often applies the test of, \u201cwhat would that sound like if it was read in open court?\u201d Since our communications have been subpoenaed for a number of legal cases over the years, we try to never write anything to each other that does not meet that test. Even though we enjoy one another and often joke around, even in our private exchanges we seek to avoid humor that we would not also use publicly.<\/p>\n

What Our Speech Reveals<\/h2>\n

Gruden said; \u201cI never had a blade of racism in me.\u201d Yet in one of his messages, he compared the lips of NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith to automobile tires. That kind of callous racism did not appear out of thin air. Gruden should have acknowledged the depth of the problem as an important first step of repentance and change.<\/p>\n

Jesus explained that; \u201cthe mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 12:34-37).<\/p>\n

Coarse jesting at another\u2019s expense reveals a kind of hatred, prejudice, and disdain that must be faced head-on.<\/p>\n

A Universal Problem<\/h2>\n

Some sports enthusiasts have complained that Gruden is being unfairly singled out and that the best approach would be to release everyone\u2019s private e-mails and text messages. If the point is that \u201cnone of us are perfectly innocent,\u201d Bible writers would certainly agree. For example, James said, \u201cFor we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well<\/em>\u201d (James 3:2). He went on to suggest that \u201cno one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison<\/em>\u201d (3:8).<\/p>\n

I am not suggesting that we should use this event to criticize John Gruden. Instead we should use it to be reminded of how easy it is for all of us to displease God in this area of life.<\/p>\n

Our Desperate Need for Forgiveness<\/h2>\n

Is it even possible to make progress toward obeying Paul\u2019s command to avoid coarse jesting? Yes, but only if supernatural means are applied. Jesus shed His blood on the cross for sins such as these. That is why Paul spent the first 3 chapters of Ephesians detailing the splendor of the gospel and the possibility of new life through trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s use another regrettable event in our world as an opportunity to marvel at what Jesus Christ made possible for us, and move in the direction of repentance, faith, and obedience so that our words \u2013 whether spoken in private or public \u2013 might honor Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Travis AFB One of the more unfortunate stories to emerge from our culture last week was the resignation of Jon Gruden, coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after the media released details of private e-mails between Gruden and league associates that included slurs against black, female, and gay players, referees, owners, and league… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe High Price of Coarse Jesting - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The High Price of Coarse Jesting - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photo by Travis AFB One of the more unfortunate stories to emerge from our culture last week was the resignation of Jon Gruden, coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after the media released details of private e-mails between Gruden and league associates that included slurs against black, female, and gay players, referees, owners, and league... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-18T14:13:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-18T17:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20211018101151\/Gruden.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1638\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Viars\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Viars\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/\",\"name\":\"The High Price of Coarse Jesting - Faith Church Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-18T14:13:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-18T17:35:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/b83c7b6a62eab6b6e07c6659b204826c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-high-price-of-coarse-jesting\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The High Price of Coarse Jesting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Church Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/b83c7b6a62eab6b6e07c6659b204826c\",\"name\":\"Steve Viars\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121939\/ViarsSteve.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121939\/ViarsSteve.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Steve Viars\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Viars has served as a pastor and counselor at Faith since 1987. 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