[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2022]
Do you ever look back at something you have written some time ago and wonder whether you could have expressed yourself rather better? It might have been an irate letter to a newspaper, an impetuous comment on social media or a note declaring everlasting love for a now-forgotten sweetheart. Does what you wrote then make you cringe now?
Back in those dark days when much of one’s future depended on the ability to write well in exams we were frequently told to reread what we had written before turning in the paper. In theory, this would give us the opportunity to improve on the answers and thereby gain a few more points.
I seldom had time for such a luxury – the three hours typically allowed for the paper were rarely enough ‘do justice’ to the subject in question. However, there was one occasion when I did reread what I had written and then discovered that I had misunderstood the question. There was just time to turn my answer into a dialogue demonstrating the merits of my interpretation of the question; somewhat surprisingly that was then accepted as a well-considered answer!
Contrast this with the situation of someone who has spoken words that they now regret; their tongue was in motion before their brain was activated. What now? You cannot go back and re-speak what you have said. Do you ignore the faux-pas and hope the hearer didn’t notice, do you try to steer the conversation away from the sensitive topic or do you try to compensate and just dig a deeper hole?
Throughout history people have said things that would have been better left unsaid. From “Am I my brother’s keeper?” through to “Prepare the nuclear option“, ill-considered words have brought misery, misunderstanding and disastrous outcomes. So, is staying silent always the better option?
Does fear of ‘putting your foot in it’ deter us from speaking out when it is appropriate? Have we left unsaid those things that ought to have been said? Does pausing to think compromise the spontaneity of our message, meaning that its relevance has gone? Speak out or shut up – what are we to do?
Nehemiah was a high-ranking official in the court of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. He was discussing with the king the derelict condition of Jerusalem, when the king asked him “What do you want?” The text tells us his response:
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king. [Nehemiah 2 v4-5 NIVUK]
Nehemiah had anticipated this and he had a little list but he still took the time to pray before answering.
What is our lesson? Anticipation, preparation, prayer.
Lord, let me hear from you before they hear from me!
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
