"But" clause

How many of you know what the "but" clause is?

It's actually quite simple. Whenever somebody uses the word "but" it hinders what message is being communicated. Not using "but" is actually a major key to being an effective communicator in life. That is one of the things I have learned from my internship this summer.

For example: Someone might come up to me after a basketball game and say: Hey man, you played really well tonight and you were a major key to the victory, but you hardly scored.

If I were to hear that sentence the only thing that I would take away from it is that I hardly scored. I would rather just be told that I was able to help out the team or be constructively criticized. Anything that was said before "but" became irrelevant.

I really can't think of any other ways to explain the point I am trying to make here, besides the fact that whatever is said before "but" is pretty much meaningless. Sometimes it might be true, but it's not what the receiver perceives.

So why am I talking about the "but" clause?

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. BUT you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." ( 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

I fully believe that there are people out there who see that scripture and give up all hope of being able to inherit the kingdom of God someday. The passage clearly states that those types of people will not inherit the kingdom of God. To be honest, I even believed those types of people had no hope because of that scripture. After digging in to it, you see a key word. "BUT." "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

No matter what wrong doing you have done, sin you have committed, crime you have committed, anything wrong you have done, there is still hope for you to be washed, sanctified, and justified. It's amazing how much you can learn from the "but" clause.

I hope you learned that we can never count anyone out. Counting people out is not love. We were created and brought into this world to love.

Apart from the spiritual side of things, you can also take this lesson with you when it comes to being a good and effective communicator. Next time you are about to say something to someone, try to avoid using "but" and the message will come across clearly and precisely.