BOGO

BOGO - an acronym in retail sales that stands for Buy One Get One. For example, "Buy One, Get One free" or "Buy One, Get One half price"

This past weekend I saw an advertisedment on the scrolling marquee outside a big box pharmacy that included the acronym BOGO. The marquee did not indicate whether the "get one" was free, half price, or any other price. It simply said, "BOGO widgets" and then scrolled to the next deal on hand cream or something.

I didn't think anything of it. I have seen BOGO used frequently enough that I know what it means. I wonder, however, what percentage of the rest of the population does? I first recall seeing BOGO used three or four years ago by national inexpensive retail shoe store chain. I don't know if they can take credit for making BOGO part of our everyday vernacular, but they are the ones who did for me.

New words get introduced into our language all the time, especially with technological advances. "Internet" is a pretty new word, despite it's widespread use. Words change their meanings over time. Keith Drury has written an interesting article here about that. The use of certain words can easily segregate us into groups. When I was a public school teacher, I was amazed at how many acronyms we had that were somewhat esoteric to our profession. All professions have their own core set of exclusive words.

Language can sometimes be a segregator when it comes to our faith journeys. For those of us who grew up in church, we know all the buzzwords. For someone who is new to faith and Christianity, it's easy to get lost in conversation, the sermon, or even in Bible study because there are so many words you don't understand. The saddest thing for me is when individuals get discouraged and never come back because of all these words they don't understand.

Without harping on the exclusivity issue too much, there are words that get introduced into our lives when we begin our faith journeys that bring positive results. Words like "grace", "hope", "forgiveness", and "love". We already know these words and their meanings, but when one begins a faith journey, they take on a whole new significance. They become more readily recognizable. BTW, BOGO has one other meaning. According to mybaby-name.com, it is a Slavic boy's name which means "receives God's glory", another thing which happens to us when we begin our faith journeys. That's a new word I'm definitely excited about introducing into my life.

Just a thought . . .