Too cavalier a designation? Perhaps but in our society there are few that wouldn’t understand the word and what it was describing – something totally unacceptable but not to the category of totally evil. However, it is these little yuko’s that trip us up. We would never succumb or engage in bad behaviors but we do and the problem is that they do lead to evil. Our problem is that we seem to not see these yuko’s for the evil they are.
Examples? Proverbs 6:16-19 lists those things that the Lord hates: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run to evil, a false witness, a sower of discord. And of course the first thing we would say is that we wouldn’t, don’t do those things. Really…. What about a gossip? A gossip really does all the above. Think about it. It takes a decision to ‘share’ the words that are hurtful about another. And even if you don’t start the comments, do you repeat them?
Yuko’s are the path to even worse evil behaviors. What is a yuko? It’s those words or behaviors that cause pain and hurt to others. However, what we don’t always realize is that they cause us pain and hurt. Example: making fun of someone or joining in with those who are laughing at someone. The latter is as bad as the former. One of the issues when we find ourselves having acted in agreement, whether tacitly or actively, is… what do we do now? We have done the ‘yuko’ thing but will we compound it into evil?
I believe we have two things to do: One, apologize to the one who was impacted by our behavior (and their acceptance of our apology has nothing to do with what we need to offer it). Two, go to the Lord for forgiveness. We need to be aware of what led us into this behavior – wanting acceptance from those who were acting wrong? or feeling that the person ‘deserved’ our words or actions? Whatever the reason for our behavior it is crucial that we learn from it and be aware not to repeat it.
…but, what do you think?
