Jerry Clower Made My Childhood Better

Recently on the way to school, Wyatt asked about a CD in my truck so I introduced him to Jerry Clower. Jerry Clower is long dead, but he was the best kind of comedian. He was a master story teller who did not need to resort to filthy language or crude jokes for an easy laugh. Wyatt has become obsessed with listening to Jerry Clower (he told Angela the other day that someone “commenced to squawlin…”) so much that I am beginning to grow tired of Jerry Clower, and I didn’t think that was possible.

What I have learned, however, is that I can only share the Jerry Clower comedy that I have on my iPod or on CD because Pandora intersperses other comedians along with Clower who do not share his penchant for wholesome family fun. Wyatt’s obsession got me to thinking about the difference between clean and wholesome.

In reality, there are ways that I can share “clean” comedy (or music or TV) with my kids by bleeping out language or giving them a radio edited version, but clean is not the same thing as wholesome. Clean music doesn’t have foul language, but it may have terrible subject matter. Wholesome entertainment, on the other hand, is not only clean, but it promotes positive messages. We need to do a better job of being wholesome rather that merely clean. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul urges Christians to use appropriate language. Various translations handle his terminology differently, but they include, “Let no unwholesome words” and “let no corrupting talk” come out of your mouths, but only that which is “good for building up, and fits the occasion.”

Christians need to be in the business of building each other up. I suppose that Jerry Clower was so much fun to me as a kid because he was funny and his comedy served to build others up rather than tear them down. He proved then and continues to prove today that we can emulate Paul and not be sticks in the mud. How are you working to eliminate unwholesome and corrupting talk from your vocabulary?