Train up a child in
the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Each generation has a language of
its day. I’m speaking of what many would
refer to as ‘slang’. When properly used,
slang terms are the identifiers which state that you belong to a particular
group. These terms distinguish you from
your elders and from those too young for the terms to have relevance or
meaning. Some of the terms of old were
‘hip’ or ‘cool’ or even ‘groovy’.
Today, there are phrases like,
Turn up - - - To get excited or an encouragement to do
something
Ratchet - - - Ghetto, something without class
Dope - - - Really cool
Tight - - - Cool, together
Get
Snatched - - - Getting in good physical shape
Get Yoked - - - Getting buff, muscular physical shape
Giving Me
Life - - - A compliment, ie – Your outfit is ‘giving me life’
Lies you
Tell - - - A declaration that the person speaking is
not telling
the
truth
Go Ham - - - Going hard for something, using a lot of
energy to
obtain
something
As I write this, I’m amused by the slang terms of old used
to define the slang terms of today.
And if this were not enough to
keep up with, our children have another language. I call it ‘Tech Talk’. Our children have multiple venues for keeping
in touch with others. It's called Social Media.
There’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vine and
Pheed. I have no idea what most of these
are and have not used any of them. I
guess I’ve just dated myself.
Some Tech Talk terms,
LOL - - - Laugh
Out Loud
WYL - - - Whatever
You Like
ROFL - - - Roll
on the Floor Laughing
JK - - - Just
Kidding
TTYL - - - Talk
to You Later
BRB - - - Be
Right Back
FRFR - - - For
Real, For Real , which in it’s further translation is an
expression
of sincerity about that which is being discussed
ARD - - - Aii
Ight, which stands for ‘all right’
And the simple one which confused me,
GM - - - Good
Morning!
It’s fun learning the language of
the young. And it’s amazing that if
you’re not in their age range, no matter how appropriate your usage of the
term, it’s not correct if You say it. I guess after a certain age the tones of our
voice change making it impossible to be ‘Dope’ with our kids.
For all that’s changing in our
world, I do have confidence in what has not, and will not change and that is God’s
Word. Proverbs 22:6 gives instruction for raising our children. The Hebrew translation of this passage is to,
‘Initiate the child at the opening (the mouth) of his path’. This speaks of training, beginning at the
point when a child is able to choose (between right and wrong), providing
direction and instruction consistent with the make-up of the child. The Hebrew word defined as ‘train up’ also
signifies dedicating or consecrating something to the Lord. We are to teach, guide and direct our
children from their very beginnings, enabling them to distinguish good from
evil, right from wrong and giving them incentive and motivation to choose what
is good and right. We are to teach our
children that there is a God who loves and cares for them as Father. We are to teach our children the Word, which
will serve as a ‘lighted path’ for their lifetime. Of all the things that change from generation to generation, I am glad for
the Solid Rock foundation of the Word which doesn’t change.
Now that’s ‘tight’!
Be Blessed.
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