The Damnible Peeve

The peeve is a prickly beast, and to hold one as a pet can be uncomfortable or even hazardous. Still, at times one must gingerly hold it up for examination. Postmodern believers like to eschew formal, religious jargon as The Language of the Pious. To the user, jargon doesn't have to be understood, just admired. The difference between Christianese and other jargon-infused language is the eternal stakes. Colossians 4:5 enjoins us to use wisdom when dealing with outsiders. If by inflicting Christianese on the unchurched we throw a stumbling block in their way to the Lord, will we not be judged for our disobedience? Wouldn't it be awful to be judged for witnessing foolishly? How does the Father view street preachers who shout Christianese at their audience? Does He reward that pious preacher for the one in a hundred souls who repents and comes to Jesus? Or does He punish that zealot because of the other ninety-nine who perish because they become gospel hardened? We might have to take our responsibility more seriously if judgment were at stake.