Give a Shit

In the course of casually following all the fun stuff concerning Derek Webb's newest album "Stockholm Syndrome" my most wonderful girlfriend and I have both discovered that Derek is starting a new organization called "Give a Shit", which will go to dig latrines in Africa to try and help stem the tide of thousands dying daily from lack of clean drinking water. Sojourners magazine wrote an article about Derek's plans, saying,

"Derek Webb wants to dig latrines for Jesus. And he’s looking for a few thousand friends to lend a hand. In a world where as many as 8,000 people die each day from waterborne diseases, he says, it’s the Christian thing to do. To get the word out about his latrine campaign, Webb, a Nashville-based Christian singer-songwriter who doesn’t mince words, is planning to launch a new Web site—www.giveashit.org. The name, he said, is meant to startle people into action."

Webb said in the interview, "The twin towers fall every day in Africa for lack of clean drinking water—7,500 or 8,000 people dying every day and the church does not appear to give a shit."

But before you get your undies all in a bundle over Derek's use of the word "shit," I'll ask you to consider two things:

1. Derek said this about his use of the word: "Part of my job is to take language and redeem it and to use it for good. This is a great opportunity for me to use language creatively to stir people to action." And part of that is his using it in one of the songs on Stockholm Syndrome.

2. The apostle Paul also used strong language when he thought it was appropriate, as is seen in Philippians 3:8 when he writes, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ..." I don't think too many people would like a translation that inserted "shit" in there, but from what I've heard and learned, Paul here uses the strongest word in Greek to make his point.

I'm not trying to advocate the general use of "foul language" for any reason, but I do think Derek makes a good point in that we as Christians can use language in a redeemed and appropriate manner to indeed edify our brothers and sisters in Christ. And frankly, I think Derek's use of the word shit in the title of the organization he is starting is both appropriate, sobering, and a little humorous, given that the biggest contributor to dirty water in Africa is human waste.

I hope I get the chance to go dig latrines with him. And that my heart will be softened and tuned into God's so that I, myself, will give a shit about the issues that break God's heart.