min read | 12 Comments

August 6, 2018

Never Say That

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. ~ Edmund Burke

Say the thing that ought to be said because it is the correct thing to be said in the moment for the building up of another or saving another from a perilous fate. ~ Vaughn Berkeley, MBA

Have you ever just laid down on the grass on a warm sunny day and thought about words we say? And what does this have to do with the title of my article never say that? Well, with your permission, if you give me a few minutes I’ll take you through some thoughts I’ve been pondering about what we say on what we don’t.

Around 50 years ago it would’ve been quite taboo to see cursing on television shows and movies. According to social norms of that time, for a movie to be considered acceptable for the general audience there had to be a limitation on the amount of vulgarity used in the movie. Go back even 75 years ago and you can see those old gangster movies with the gangsters using language free from vulgarity or obscenities. Today however there is swearing and cursing and vulgarities used in place of a period or comma in the dialogue of characters. Imagine if your grandmother or great grandmother were to hear you speak like that 75 years ago, she might be telling you, “oh you should never say that.” It was the societal norm of the time.

Between the years 1500 and 1900, the Protestant reformers believed that the Roman Catholic Church bureaucracy was the Antichrist power described in the book of Revelation. This saying would be sounded by all of them from the pulpits including the Calvinists, the Lutherans, the Methodists, and other Protestant reform religions. However today you’d be hard pressed to find any religious group that still holds this interpretation of Scripture. Due to changing sentiments of society, now someone would say to you, “oh you should never say that.” But if you collect old books and love vintage classic books, you can read for yourself what the reformers of old believed. And you can read books like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, to discover the hardship Christians have endured for hundreds of years.

Today another hot button of discussion is around international politics and how countries interact with each other over different economic and political beliefs. Canada is currently in the middle of a dispute with Saudi Arabia. According to Canadian news sources, this dispute was triggered by Canada’s Global Affairs Ministry tweet “decrying the arrest and detention of two female bloggers and activists, and urging Saudi authorities to immediately free the two women as well as all peaceful human rights activists.” The politics of the US President may be carried out via twitter but Canada is not the political juggernaut like the USA and should know better. The news reports that the “Saudi Foreign Ministry took exception to the wording of the tweet, calling it an attempt by Canada to interfere with the country’s internal affairs.” One can imagine an old timer politician on the backbench somewhere telling another associate, “one should never say that.” That tweet has resulted in Saudi banning Canadian wheat, Saudi recall of its diplomats, cancelling of air flights between Saudi Arabia and Canada, and the recall of hundreds of Saudi foreign students in Canada studying on a Saudi scholarship. Indeed many are probably whispering, “oh, the Canadian government should never say that.” This political mess may only be resolved by a firing of someone I suspect and Canada apologising to Saudi Arabia.

Exciting times, these are.

One thing that is still taboo and will probably be taboo until the end of the world is to tell a person of their sins against Yah. For some strange reason, people don’t like being called a liar, or a thief, or an adulterer, or a murderer, or a drunkard, even if those same people are indeed doing those things. I recently engaged in a lengthy conversation with an adulteress who absolutely denies my point of view as wrong, and defended herself as a forgiven woman. She sent me a long note on her rightness and my judging. A few days later she admitted that she felt like I would not want to talk to her ever again after her essay. But I told her I didn’t take her letter personally and I still got love for her. So if she is willing to be friendly, I’ll be friendly and we both can put forth our arguments until we find a breakthrough or get totally frustrated and end that discussion. Neither of us subscribe to the position, “oh you should never say that.”

The scripture teaches that iron sharpens iron. Have you ever rubbed two pieces if iron together to sharpen them? Things get heated. There’s friction all the time. And sometimes there are sparks. In the end, you get a tool ready for its purpose. In human terms, we will get heated at times, we will have friction in our discussions, and there may be occasional sparks flying. But if our goal is to build each other up, the end result is we will both be made sharper for the experience.

As writers you and I have a duty to step beyond the “never say that” barrier. Those who believe in the Kingdom of Yah and the place called hell, have a duty to step beyond the “never say that” barrier. Spiritual truth will always be taboo in a world that delights in spiritual darkness so prepare your heart and mind for some hurt feelings if you say pure, unadulterated truth from heaven.

As Samuel the priest was hurt when the people wanted a king to rule over them like the other nations, Yah told him not to be sad because they hadn’t really rejected Samuel, it was the authority of Yah they had rejected. The majority will reject you when you stand for truth so endure to the end so that when your name is read from the record in heaven, it will not be said of you that you were found wanting… oh please, Never Say That.

Until next time, continue to learn and grow.

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Photo: Original Painting Canadian Artist, Caleb Berkeley: Blue River and Mountains.

About the author 

Vaughn Berkeley, MBA

I'm a father of 3, a published author of 60+ books, a writing coach, and an online instructor. I'm a gangsta gardener so when I'm not working on my book projects, you'll find me in my garden! I'm working on a special project I'm not at liberty to discuss yet but my fans will know first in 2023/24, These days, I'm on a spiritual quest to discover more about the meaning of life and my our purpose. I lost a dear friend in 2018 and so I'm more focused that ever on what truly matters in this life: People.

  • Stephanie Reed says:

    Nice article Vaughn, “Never Say That.” I love how bold you were in taking that stance! Great job!

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Thank you Stephanie for your kind words and your support. I don’t think I was taking a bold stance. lol. I’m just expressing thoughts and Ideas that need to be expressed to give us food for thoughts. Take care. ~ Love, Vaughn

  • Laurisa Reyes says:

    Hi Vaughn. Your post “Never Say That” reminded me of what’s happening here in the USA with liberals doing everything they can to silence conservatives. They succeeded for eight years, but now that the tables are turned and a Republican is president, they have increased their efforts by using threats and every nasty tactic you can imagine. Not that all conservatives are innocent. Too many people refuse to listen to or even accept the existence of those with opposing views.

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Dear Laurisa, thanks for your support and wonderful feedback. Yes, it seems like your democrats are getting more intolerant toward your conservatives. It is really sad how much division is taking place in the USA. I fear it will get much worst by design until normal people are so frustrated that they will settle for any middle ground peace solution. Time will tell how it all plays out. By the way, I tried to email you a couple times and tried to DM you on twitter but you not following me. Want you opinion on a fantasy book I’m working on. PM me. Take care. ~ Love, Vaughn

  • Marty Hynes says:

    Never Say That Vaughn Berkeley (Author) is a great article. Truth hurts. It has stung me a time or two. BTW keep me in your prayers brother as I launch my book and Project19 Building BIGGER – BETTER – STRONGER – MEN this fall. I appreciate your work my friend!

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Hey Marty, you’re an inspiration dude. You’re always so happy it is amazing. I’ll have the family say a special prayer for you and your book project. Also, if you want me to do a review of it, pm me and let’s discuss. Take care buddy. ~ Love, Vaughn

  • Debra Reynolds says:

    Good article, Vaughn, and the painting was lovely as well. Is the artist your son?

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Hey Debra, my super fan! Really glad you enjoyed my article, “Never Say That”. Yes, the Canadian artist is my son. He’s got some talent that kid, even if I am a bit biased as his dad. 🙂 Take care. ~ Love, Vaughn

  • Jacquie Kaufman-Ludwick says:

    Dear Vaughn, as usual I not only agreed with most of your article and learned more historical facts, but I am not sure who Yah is. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and as far as I am concerned I would rather have all the profanities our of our movies, tv shows, books and music. I agree with Grandmother!

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Thank you for your comment my friend Jacquie. I think you must have had a wonderful youth and I find myself thinking that I’m an old soul. We can both agree that grandmother knew a few good things about good behaviour. Take care. ~ Love, Vaughn

  • Erica Ligocki says:

    Hi Vaughn, I just read, “Don’t say that.” I completely agree with Laurisa that this can be related to the conservatives and the liberals, but also to anyone who feels they have a message. It can be hard to preach the truth at times but knowng the truth is what’s going to set people free. Good job!

    • Vaughn Berkeley, MBA says:

      Hey Erica, thank you for your insightful comments and feedback. Appreciate it. By the way, the article I wrote was “Never Say That.” Laurisa made a typo when she was leaving her comment. Indeed it is hard to speak the truth at times but that is what leads to freedom. ~ Love, Vaughn

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