Are there certain buzz words, catch phrases, or tag lines that drive you nuts?
There’s been a word in the press that’s driven me crazy for a few years now. Recently it’s about all I can do not to turn off the radio or TV every time I hear it.
“Allege.”
Someone allegedly did this, or an alleged suspect did that. Heck, I’m pretty sure the alleged reporter covering the story didn’t even call to fact-check on the piece.
Everyone’s got a story but no ones willing to commit to anything for liability’s sake.
Heck, even our cereal boxes make boastful statements but always cover it up with contingencies and disclaimers. Like yesterday morning on a box of my favorite cereal: “May be proven to lower your cholesterol!*”
May be proven?
And the little * lead to small print on how the inconclusive tests relied on a myriad of strict dietary changes that had nothing really to do with cereal.
Those alive today are “alleged-out.” Because the majority of what’s reported is never confirmed at the time, truth is irrelevant. Trust is cashed in on the name of a good story.
Any good leader I’ve ever known has been honest. Truthful. Safe. And if they didn’t know it for sure, they never said it at all.
Both Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12 not only tell us as Christians to “let our yes be yes and our no be no,” but they go further to say we’re in sin if we don’t.
In sin.
Can you say gossip?
I wonder how many of us go up to the altar and repent of that on a needed basis?
If you want to earn the trust of those you’re leading, only open your mouth when you’re sure of what you’re about to say. That way you’ll never have to allege anything. Such behavior will actually endear you to those you’re leading. It’s bold, mature, and so refreshing.
Sure, your inside scoop may not be as juicy or as hot, but you’ll almost never be wrong. And being right is remembered a long time after being juicy gets old. ch:
