James Cracket or Jiminy, as he was better known, was a good man. Liked by everyone. He got along with everyone on the job and off. The only thing about Jiminy was that he was the swearingest guy I ever knew. I know I was no slouch in that department and could turn the air around me blue without much effort, but I could not hold a candle to Jiminy.
It made no difference if he was on the job cursing at the work needed to be done or if he was in a public place, a restaurant or on a street corner, this guy never held back. It wasn’t just ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ it was the crudest biological words known to man.
The reason I am writing about Jiminy today is not to condone this type of language, I would say it is just the opposite. You see there was an incident or maybe a confrontation that occurred once that implanted in me a different idea of how words affect others. It took a while to sink in, but I never forgot it. Here is what happened.
Jiminy was the go-to guy in my crew. In the Ironworking trade what he did is called a ‘pusher’. When you have a big crew and as foreman are spending most of your time doing layout or plan work, the pusher keeps the crew working. As such Jiminy was with me when we had our start of shift meetings with the big bosses. At the start of every shift all foremen were given their work sectors and assignments. Normally just a bunch of guys getting together and shooting the breeze but, on the day, when the incident happened, things were a little different. When we came into the office trailer there were three shiny white hard hats gathered with our boss, automatically my antenna went up, I should be on my best behavior. I could see the other foremen were doing the same. I forgot about Jiminy.
Instead of getting assignments we were introduced to two corporate big-wigs and the company’s new safety advisor, Ms. Jaspher. Back in those days women on a jobsite were still a rare thing and most of us were sure to be civil and polite, at least while we were in the same room. As the meeting started Ms. Jaspher, or Mary, as she advised us to call her, took charge. She was there to institute some new safety procedures, and this brought groans from the group gathered around her. All the guys in the room had started in the business before there were safety lines and extra equipment to wear to prevent falling and many believed it was a jinx to be wearing it. It was just low grumbling until I heard Jiminy pipe up and let Mary know in no uncertain terms what he felt about such things. I cannot repeat it here but as I watched Mary’s face, I could see the blood drain out of it. For the first time in my life I felt embarrassed by words I myself had used so often. Was I really blushing?
I have to admit, with regret, that most of my life I have used language that offended without much thought or care. Yes, most of the time I tried to be circumspect in mixed company. Toning the most offense words down to less graphically or biologically descriptive to well, just nasty. But I never gave a second thought of how those words were affecting people around me.
That day in the office trailer for maybe the first time I saw a reaction that made me stop and think, but it did not change me. I remember thinking, this is so wrong. I need to shut Jiminy up. But even with those feelings it would be 30 or more years until the words used that day left my vocabulary for good.
It did not happen all at once but within my first year of Bible listening and study I would hear co-workers say, “What’s up with you? No swearing every other word?” I would think, is that true? But soon I began to notice. My words were gentler in some way. I had no need to use language as a weapon or just crudeness which I used to believe was my right.
I soon came across verses like, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29) I found I wanted to do just that. Words that once were so natural to be became unnatural and yes, offensive. I was being transformed.
Finally, when I read the book of James, I found truth that sealed the deal, “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3: 5-6) My tongue had led me in ways that were hurtful to others and to myself, I no longer was that man!
In the office trailer, too late, I was able to get Jiminy back under wraps. The damage was done, and the bosses sought to make his life miserable. I protected him the best I could, but one day he had had enough and ‘drug up’. We never worked together again. Today, I can look back at that day with regret yet like many of my experiences, the lesson learned is so much deeper knowing how I once was but by the grace of God no longer am. I pray that for James Cracket wherever he might be and for you too. Use your language to mend and not tear. In Jesus it is the true language of love.
Blessings John,
1/25/19
