It’s Condimentary!

My son loves butter, and any bread product he encounters requires a healthy dollop, followed by a lick of the knife. (Yes, manners training might be a lifelong pursuit.

In our household, we’ve always described butter as a “condiment,” and we also must have made the point that it is “complimentary” to bread and rolls. So, the other night at dinner, responding to my usual reprimand – “That’s enough butter, Matthew” – he created a new word to describe the importance of butter in his life: “condimentary."

In truth, his new defense was pretty impressive: “Mom, butter is condimentary to Matthew.”

Give the guy credit for his ingenuity. He wasn’t going to give up without a proper argument, and this new word perfectly captures the purpose of butter (condiment) and the importance (complimentary) it has in his life.

I don’t think my pride in his creativity will allow me to overlook his butter intake levels, but I know I’ll listen more carefully to him from now on! His clever compounding of two ideas into one perfect expression reminds me of how religions have created complicated terms for common ideas in an effort to define a new reality.

While visiting different churches, I’ve become more and more aware of the “Church-speak” words and phrases they use to define the differences between people who are in the church community, and those who aren’t. To make their points convincingly, many churches have abandoned traditional religious terms such as “disciple,” “pagan,” or “heretic,” and have adapted more common terms such as “believer,” “seeker,” “unchurched,” and “lost."

Listen to the words and phrases you hear at a church or read on their Website. That church community’s view of who you are will determine the experience you can expect to have with them. If their “butter” is healing suffering souls, and you don’t see your “bread” as needing that, move on.

Check out my Website article, “One of Them,” for words and phrases that clue you into a church’s view of you, and the relationship they seek with others who are not part of their community. It will help you find a church that sees you for where you are in your spiritual journey. 

You’ll know if a church truly is “condimentary” for you, because you’ll want so much more. But, please, don’t lick the pastor.