except the lord
Posted on February 18, 2004
Filed Under images, out of town, stories
It’s much funnier if you see it as I did — as a command.
I see now that because I’m from the southern United States, I was primed to read this as a prescription. Growing up in the South, I am accustomed to seeing churches display marquise advertising to their congregations, as well as to the public throughout the week, that they need to change their ways. If you’re also from the South or have spent some time down here, then you know too that the content of church marquise ranges from creative and metaphorical (like one I saw last year, ?True March Madness is not knowing Jesus?) to downright forceful, direct, and mean-spirited (?Get saved, or you will go to Hell?).
Walking down a hill in Cape Coast, Ghana, I saw this small building and I laughed out loud. What a wonderful misspelling, I thought arrogantly. Only later did I learn that ?except the lord? is a saying common within a certain branch of Christianity. Meaning to demonstrate the power of their god, someone will say something like, ?no one can square a circle,? to which someone else responds, ?except the lord.? Still, I thought it was much funnier as a prescription. ?Except the lord?… get that lord right out of your life.
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