And God Said
Public speaking is hard. Since my retirement I have listened to a lot of sermons by gifted pastors and teachers, and my admiration for those who speak in front of live audiences has grown by leaps and bounds. Sometimes we listeners, who sit in the pew, think that those who stand in front of us to deliver a speech or a sermon are just naturally gifted with inbred speaking abilities. I believe otherwise. To take a verse of Scripture or a complicated subject matter and explain it clearly so that your audience can understand, well, that takes more than talent. That skill developed over long, tedious periods of study, reflection and prayer and was crafted and refined after countless hours of work.
Most of us find it taxing just to communicate clearly with our spouse or children, best friend or the people we work with, let alone an audience of hundreds of people who only casually know us. Words thoughtlessly spoken can create all kinds of havoc and discord. Ill-chosen words can result in lost friendships, broken marriages, alienated children or split congregations.
One morning, during my work out at a local YMCA, I was moving about the weight room trying to get to a certain exercise station. Two middle-aged women were using a piece of equipment next to the one I intended to use. I tried to carefully maneuver around them, as the space was limited, but inadvertently bumped into the side of their machine. I quickly apologized and said, “Am I in your way?” They looked startled for a moment and then rather indignantly replied, “I beg your pardon!” I could see the blood rushing to their faces and had no idea how I had offended them. I gently repeated, “Am I in your way?” Slowly their countenances changed and their tense faces broke into a relaxed smile, and the one closest to me said, “Oh, we thought you asked, ‘How much do we weigh?’”
Words do indeed make a difference.
Mark Twain once quipped that the difference between the right word and the wrong word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Lightning illumines; a lightning bug, not so much. The right word can encourage, inspire and empower. The wrong word can humiliate, crush and create divisions instead of understanding.
This is my first blog in what I hope will be the first of many. My goal is to write words that will encourage and inspire but also enlighten. I take on this challenge with fear and trembling. I know words are powerful tools. I have spent my life trying to speak the right word, not always succeeding. I have spent much time in prayer asking God to forgive me for a poorly chosen word, and I have spent hours apologizing to people I hurt with my insensitive comments. Saying the right word requires thoughtful consideration.
We live in a contentious age where everything from religion to politics to science to culture is fiercely debated, where lines are drawn and people stand deeply polarized. If a person decides to speak, or in my case, write, there will be pushback. I understand that. The only alternative, though, is to stay silent and to leave the page blank, in other words, to do nothing.
When God pondered over creation, whether to speak the first word, I feel confident that God foresaw the consequences of that word. God’s spoken word and personal touch formed Adam and Eve. Their ensuing sin and their estrangement from God would have repercussions that would filter down through the ages, resulting in a world of suffering and death. God’s spoken word would cost God dearly—even the cross was foreshadowed in that first word. All the future troubles began with a spoken word. And yet God said . . . And the world unfolded. Even knowing what God knew, God spoke!
Why? Why did God speak into existence a world where there would be tragedy and sorrow, confusion and division, disease and death? I think it is because human beings, frail creatures that we are, have been created in the image of God. Even though we have been marred by sin, even though that divine image is sometimes difficult to recognize, there is something of God in all of us. Rest assured, if we doubt that about ourselves, God doesn’t! And that’s worth writing about!
