Sweet Tea for the Soul

by Tom Goodman

I know a Southernism that can help you develop your soul.

You know what a “Southernism” is, right? People from the South measure distance in “tads” and measure time in “directlys”—as in “scoot over a tad” and “I’ll be over to your house directly.” People from the South know that a state of readiness is required to enter into any action, so we’ll let you know when we’re “fixin’” to do something. And people from the South know that it makes no sense for the plural of “you” to be “you.” Every other language differentiates between the second-person singular and the second-person plural, so English should, too. “Y’all” solves the deficiency here. Even my smartphone’s autocorrect knows this.

By the way, the best indicator that a speaker has no idea how to imitate a Southerner is when he refers to one person as “y’all.” Yankee, please.

But there’s one Southernism that will help you develop your soul. I’m speaking about the word “reckon.” On his 2012 album, Punching Bag, Josh Turner included the song “Whatcha Reckon.”

Whatcha reckon we take off early today?
Go and take a little ride in my Chevrolet
Down the road we ain't been down before
And see where it goes

He was inviting his girl to imagine herself in a scenario—more than that, though: He was inviting her to act on the scenario.

And that’s where “reckoning” can help you grow as a Christian. In Romans 6:11, Paul says, “Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NKJV).

If we think of the pursuit of holiness as a self-improvement process it will lead either to pride or despair, depending on our success. It’s better to think of the pursuit of holiness as getting aligned with the status Christ has achieved for us. United to him, we’ve already died to sin. Spiritual growth means acting in consistency with that scenario.

This great truth is like sweet tea for the soul. I’ll pour you a glass in this Sunday’s sermon. See you at 10!