“F” Words

Those who know me well know I do not like “F” words. There are certain ones that make me very uncomfortable when I hear them, to the point I tell the offending person (maybe not right at that moment but in the near future) “I do not like the “F” word”. For others, I question why it’s even necessary to use them.

According to all things Google, the English language has approximately 1,025,110 words.  On average, and although very difficult to document (no pun intended), a native English speaker may know and/or use between 35,000 to 50,000 words out of those over a million available.

That is not to say it’s necessary to use every word imaginable. George Orwell gives great advice when he said “Never use a long word where a short one will do” and “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.”

As Blaise Pascal said “Words differently arranged have a different meaning, and meanings differently arranged have a different effect.” I think Pascal could have used Orwell’s advice; nonetheless, words have meaning!

Because words have meaning, the overuse or misuse of these particular “F” words – failure, fear, and frantic -- really bothers me.  I hope you didn’t think I was speaking of other kinds of “F” words. It bothers me because sometimes, they should have no space in our brains the way they do, and even worse, take hold in our hearts in such a way that they skew our perspective.

Take failure. Why all the, as Cinci would say, hatorade towards it? I recently heard a lecture quoting NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding failure. He says “Risk intolerance is a guarantee of failure to accomplish anything of significance.”  I really love that! We fail when we refuse to try but unless we try, what do we accomplish? Another different perspective on failure is these words by Henry Ford:"Failure is an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." It’s okay to fail as long as we learn and move forward. A good Bible verse to remember is:

“For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” - Proverbs 24:16 (ESV)

Then there is fear. In my personal experience, this one is tied closely to failure. I don't know about you, but I am sometimes afraid of failing at that which is important to me. I have feared not being a good enough mom, a good enough wife, a good enough Christian, a good enough worker, a good enough friend...basically, name a relationship, I have feared that my inadequacies may ruin them. I appreciate the wordsmithing of Andrew Peterson in the song "Just as I am". He says:

All of my life I've held on to this fear

These thistles and vines, ensnare and entwine

What flowers appeared

It's the fear that I'll fall one too many times

It's the fear that His love is no better than mine

And I have feared especially the last part. However, through faith I can believe that is not the mindset Jesus wants for me. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

And Isaiah 41:10 affirms:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The chorus to the song quoted above says:

Just as I am and just as I was

Just as I will be He loves me, He does

He showed me the day that

He shed His own blood

He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does

I can believe this and not fear my shortcomings because of His sacrifice for me! And, you can too because of His sacrifice and love for you too!

Frantic is a little different. I don’t think I use the word as much as living it at times. Am I so hurried that the activity steals my peace? Am I so frenzied and full of worry about trivial things I cannot pause to reflect on His goodness? Do I let #firstworldproblems steal my joy? I know that is not how I should think and certainly not the way I should live.

From John 16:33 to Isaiah 26:3 to Psalm 27 to Matthew 6:31-34 to Psalm 46 to John 14:27 and more – the message is clear. He’s got this!

And since He’s got this, we can heed the advice of Philippians 4:6-7:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

He will guard our hearts and minds and replace those “F” words. He will give us flawless instead of failure, faith instead of fear, fulfilled instead of frantic.

What’s your favorite positive “F” word?