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Few Words
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There was a time when books, and especially religious books, were thick with pages and crammed full of words. It is not so today, when words are explained by pictures and diagrams, and videos, DVDs, powerpoint presentations, and everything a computer can do, largely take the place of books. Yet words, even if not printed, are still the key to understanding what is being put forward, there are simply not so many of them, and they are not the only source of knowledge. We are not expected to pore over close printed pages, yet the few words we use need more than ever to be meaningful. Few words in speaking to God Ecclesiastes 5.2 reads 'God is in heaven and thou upon earth. Therefore let your words be few.' This advice is in the context of worship at the Jewish temple. First, we are advised that it is better to listen to God and his law than to have a lot to say for ourselves. We need to be circumspect in what we promise God. What we vow, we must perform. We must beware speaking 'empty' words, not just words that are simply mumbo‑jumbo, nor even meaningful promises that we do not really intend to keep. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Yet Jesus taught us that it is as to our Father that we may come near to God. Even in this relationship, the child does not need to use a lot of words. In fact, many a human parent is frankly unimpressed at being repeatedly pestered by an importunate child. We are told that our Father knows what we need before we ask, it is not that He needs telling what we need, it is simply our need to tell Him all about it. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, the model he gave was concise. The Lord's Prayer first gives due recognition to God and who He is, in worship. Second, it accepts and acknowledges his good plan, and our part in obedience to it. Thirdly, it turns to basic needs that we all have: for daily food that we need in order to live and grow (and food is not only for the body, but for the mind, the heart, the soul); forgiveness (and we need to show the spirit of forgiveness); and the need for protection from sin in ourselves and the evil around us. Matthew 6.32 states that He knows our needs for food and clothing - what we should be seeking first is His kingdom and His righteousness. Not that we should be inhibited in our prayers. Jesus spoke positively (Luke 11.9‑13) that we should ask, seek, knock, with confidence. Especially for the gift of his Holy Spirit. And the example that Jesus gave of prayer was of spending whole nights in communion with his Father. How many words did he need to use on those frequent solitary nights, seeking guidance and encouragement? His prayer in John 17, spoken aloud in the presence of his disciples, had its special purpose for their benefit; by Gethsemane He was back to private communication with the Father, not many words, but such words! Few words in speaking to people Proverbs 10.19 states that where there are many words, transgression is not lacking. The more we say, the more we reveal of our hidden sinful thoughts. Says James (chapter 3) that if we can control our tongue, we can control our whole selves. Words are disproportionate in their power, like a rudder steering a ship or a spark setting off a forest fire. And the words we speak are themselves difficult to keep under control, easier to tame a tiger than to tame the tongue! So is it better not to say anything at all? James goes on to speak of wisdom, and showing in our lives the meekness of wisdom. To do this, we need words, wise words, enough of them, but not so many that our attempted 'wisdom' becomes counter-productive. It is one's course in life that gives weight to the words. The wisdom that is from above is '...pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity...' A few words of scripture can be powerful in the life. A Christian writer had just quoted Psalm 4.4 'in your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent' (NIV). Then she was seriously let down by a friend. It was a test. She had also written, 'Before you speak, let the word speak to you.' It is out of the heart that the mouth speaks, and she needed to cleanse her heart. The inside cracks, crevices and guilty corners of our lives will affect what we say. We need not a scrubbing brush, but the clean, fresh, good wind of the Spirit to blow through us, and to experience the power of a new birth. Words in witness When the apostle Paul was a prisoner, King Agrippa said to him, 'In short, you are trying to make a Christian of me.' Agrippa, in his thirties, had been called in by the Roman governor because of his knowledge of Jewish affairs. Paul (Acts 26) had been explaining how he had come to be in prison because of his belief in Jesus Christ, and his mission to the heathen. He had gone about it methodically. He explained the context, and how when Jesus rose from the dead it was a fulfilment of Jewish national hopes, of what the prophets had said. Then he gave his personal experience, what had happened on the way to Damascus and how it had affected his life. Then he applied this to his listener, and challenged him to believe the prophets. It was not a short speech, but it was to the point. Agrippa summed up what Paul was trying to do, 'In short, you are trying to make a Christian of me.' Paul's answer, 'The long and the short of it is that I wish that you and everybody here were a believer like me' - like Paul, except for the manacles he was wearing. When we speak of our faith to others, let our words be the ones that really matter. A word fitly spoken (Proverbs 25.11), to use a comparison from jewellery, is like apples of gold in a silver setting. 'Fitly spoken' means that our words will be to the point, and avoiding 'religious speak' be such that the listener can easily understand. There are many brief phrases that we may think of which measure up to this standard. When we speak, we need to think of the person we are talking to, first, and then of our words. We might sometimes have reason to say, 'God does care for us'; or, 'God's kingdom will definitely come' (even if we are not sure when). Our few words may even be unexpected, but are they addressed to the point of need? A speaker at an international Christian conference once said, 'There are three important phrases to learn in any language: "I love you": "I forgive you": and, "Supper's ready". Food for thought? |
