Another old journal…
Some people are concerned that my 2 ½ year old son, Prince William is not talking very much. I think he’s on to something. I think he is wise beyond his years. First, he lives with three women; mom and two older sisters, ages 11 and 9. All he has to do is grunt and point and they all jump to cater to his every whim. He wants for nothing, hence the nickname, Prince William. Why would he be motivated to talk when he has them trained so well? Secondly, he lives with three women. I’m not being redundant. That is the point. That is the brilliantly wise part. Somehow, God has blessed my little man with the wisdom to know that the less he says around women, the better off he will be. Sure, he rambles on with some unintelligible baby babble and if we only knew what he was saying, then there could definitely be trouble in the Prince’s court, but only he knows what he is saying and what we don’t know can’t hurt him. I suspect that Will is having great fun at our expense. He will let out a long, passionate barrage of baby babble, look at us and then just start laughing. We, in turn, being the innocently duped subjects in his kingdom, all laugh right in return, probably agreeing that our faces resemble road kill. Proving his sense of conniving and wisdom ever more, he allows us to teach him a word or two along the way, just to keep us pacified. Words like, “yes”, “please”, and “thank you.” We feel so accomplished when he says these words on cue, like a dog doing tricks. But the little brain child knows when he must use intelligible words to get what he wants. There is no way to point and grunt, “Grandma” and “Grandpa”, so he just enunciates these words clearly when he wants to load up the chariot and go visit them. Who ever knew that you could learn so much from a toddler? I’m glad that God blessed me with this little fellow at 40 years old, because I’m not sure that I could have slowed down long enough to learn anything at an earlier age.
Now, I am not advocating that we adults begin grunting and pointing. The popular media has so well characterized the modern man as being like this anyway, I’m not fanning that flame. Maybe it is just that we should recognize the power of words and use them more judiciously. Words have the power to hurt, to slander, but they also have the power to encourage, to lift up, to heal. Words have the power to criticize, but also the power to give sound advice. Words can curse, but they can also bless. Words can reject God or they can praise Him. Words can reveal arrogance and conceit or show kindness and humility. Words can be foul and spew out like garbage, but they can also be fresh and breathe life into others. Words have started wars, but they can also bring peace. What comes out of our mouths is so important to God that He is not ambiguous on the matter. Listen to some of His words from His Word. Proverbs 12:18, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” James 3:6,“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” And God goes on and on and on about the power of words. Maybe He says it best in Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death…” That sums it up very nicely. And that power is with us. We decide how to use it or abuse it. As a weapon or as medicine. Or as Grandma used to say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Or take a lesson from Prince William. Just grunt and point.
Onword and Upwords by Dennis Brady 