Ricky Gervais was very funny on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

I was happy to have stumbled upon the segment while looking for "The Simpsons" (1989-present) which I haven't seen in AGES.

He is funny in a unique way that I can barely describe. He's talented (natural), skilled (worked for) and brilliant (combination inborn and learned). He knows how to craft a joke and to craft humor, and how to work on any given number of levels at any time.

I think he might actually be ahead of his time. (When have I ever used THAT phrase...?) When he left the show I thought to myself that he hasn't even entered his prime, nevermind peaked. The guy has entertainment and comedic genius that many can see -- but he doesn't dominate or demand to be enshrined. I like him a lot.

I just re-remembered I'm two days behind on a work deadline (for the second week running). I only signed in to blog my recent realization that I need to be more careful and attentive with my language as I struggled twice to not cuss during a Bible study meeting tonight.

I don't mean that Christians don't swear or good Christians shouldn't swear or that no one in the room had heard a cuss word before. I only mean that I think many people in the room would be offended and that I would have no defense.

It was weird in the moment because it wanted to come out as a natural part of my speech -- and swearing is only "natural" for me in a season, either a season of anger and hard-heartedness or a season of permissable freedom where I am unconvicted in a non-sinful way. (The latter usually can't last a week before I am flaunting my freedom and taking advantage of grace.)

Yesterday I said one of the harshest "f*** you"s I think I've ever said. I actually took a breath and then deliberately spat the words out because I didn't want to take the time to express myself more eloquently. I cussed at Newt Gingrinch when he said something utterly deplorable, this after a series of foolish and arrogant slightly less offensive statements. That guy is really getting on my nerves recently and I HATE that politics deals so much with veneers that a public (though stupid and insincere) apology makes everything OK. It's like telling a jury to disregard a comment made by the witness or a lawyer. We all heard it and the judge telling us to ignore it means we'll attribute even more weight to it. The judge wants us to observe the proceedings as if someone hadn't said what they said. Judge calls it inadmissable. I call it audible.

Anyhow... yesterday I was surprised at how easily the words came out because I MEANT it. Today I was concerned that I may not stop myself in time if this keeps happening.

The first one during Bible study (actually small group) was a knee-jerk response to a friend I'd called who pretended to hang up on/snub me. ("Pretended". I couldn't actually tell.) A rude name was instantly on my tongue and as far as I can tell I spake it so quietly that no one heard -- which is impressive considering the word ends with a hard K sound.

The second cuss stemmed from righteous anger (about deadly, pervasive half-truths that can lead/have corrupted many) but I managed to swap in "crappy" at the last minute..which is somehow better.


What shall we say then?