Bulletin

Renaming Sin
Alan Smith

Someone has come up with the following list of "politically correct" terms for teenagers:

No one fails a class anymore, he's merely "passing impaired."
You don't have detention, you're just one of the "exit delayed."
Your bedroom isn't cluttered, it's just "passage restrictive."
These days, a student isn't lazy. He's "energetically declined."
Your locker isn't overflowing with junk, it's just "closure prohibitive."
Kids don't get grounded anymore. They merely hit "social speed bumps."
Your homework isn't missing, it's just having an "out-of-notebook experience."
You're not sleeping in class, you're "rationing consciousness."
You're not late, you just have a "rescheduled arrival time."
You're not having a bad hair day, you're suffering from "rebellious follicle syndrome."
You're not shy. You're "conversationally selective."
You weren't passing notes in class. You were "participating in the discreet exchange of penned meditations."
You're not being sent to the principal's office. You're "going on a mandatory field trip to the administrative building."
It's not called gossip anymore. It's "the speedy transmission of near-factual information."
The food at the school cafeteria isn't awful. It's "digestively challenged."

We have become experts at using language to hide the reality of our situation. We don't hear much about homosexuals; instead we talk of those with an "alternative lifestyle." Fornication is now referred to as "cohabiting with a significant other." We rarely sin; we merely "fail to live up to our full potential." It's not a new game -- the Pharisees neglected the welfare of their parents, but called it "Corban" (dedication to God).

Changing the wording doesn't change the sin. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).