Words Words Words: What do they all mean?
June 27, 2009 // By: Bob Hamp // 4 Comments
At age three my oldest child, already sporting an extra chromosome, pointed at a picture of an 18 wheeler and inserted the letter “F” on the front of the already garbled word, “Truck”. It was initially shocking to hear such a word come clearly out of his mouth when most words he spoke at that age were not clear at all, but there it was. My three year old Down syndrome son had said the “F” word. But what had he meant.
He was excitedly drawing our attention to the cool looking “truck”. The meaning of the word was “truck”. What he said once caused Ralphie Parker to have his mouth washed out with soap. Should I have punished my son? I hope you all arrived at the same conclusion. It would have been ridiculous and confusing to punish him for saying “truck”
Later in life any one of my kids can speak harmless words, but the motive or thought process behind their words brought a disciplinary response from my wife or I.
The simple act of discerning meaning may be one of the most important tasks in our lives and our relationships.
I know people who memorize words out of the Bible and use them to justify selfishness or criticism of others. The words seem so right, and yet the motive and heart behind them could not be further from the meaning and intent of scripture.
The idea that we can memorize words out of the Bible and not allow them to pierce us and make us like their author will drain our soul and make us smaller people.
When I communicate to my family I use words. I use gestures. I use a tone in my voice. I touch, I grin, I laugh…I look at their eyes. My words are one part of a multi-media campaign. I want them to know how I think and how I see the world. Without those elements my words will easily be misconstrued and misused.
We should take the 6×9 book known as the Bible with the intent to make our worldview infinite and multi-dimensional. If we take the all expansive, living Word of God and make it just a book then:
Your being needs rest, becomes don’t heal the sick because it is the Sabbath
Thou shalt not murder becomes you can despise and demean people, just stop short of killing them.
Thou shalt not commit adultery becomes “so what CAN I get away with?”
Really now…we might as well punish a three year-old Down syndrome boy for mispronouncing “truck”
Let the Life-giving God speak to your ever-thirsting heart.
4 Comments
Bob, Another story: your 18 month old sister once said “little girl” in such a way that it sounded like “nigger” to her black baby sitter. The baby sitter almsot quit, until she learned the meaning of what was said and looked into the eyes of the child. YOur post this morning made me cry with the truth of it , and the love you communicate so clearly. Thank you
This is challenging to me, not only in my use and intent of words, but also in how I judge others for their use and intent. This blog triggers a response in me to ask God to let His Words settle in me so deeply – for His character to me become who I am [his image] – that I can see past the misused words of others into their hearts and see them how God sees them.
Amen, it’s the heart of the matter, and God’s is Love.
Righteous justice is the foundation of God’s Throne, but it’s God’s faithful and unfailing Love and Truth that precedes and characterizes His rule. Ps 89:14
When Love and Truth meet. then righteouness and peace kiss.
Ps 85:10
Truth without Love is….
I love this post. My husband & I were sharing about Jesus in the inner city and one of the guys that was a part of one of the gangs received Jesus. As this young man was talking to me afterwords he was overwhelmed & expressing what all Jesus had shown & said to him at the altar. He was trying to explain in the language he had…..pretty rough stuff. Our 15 year old daughter walked up and realized he was sharing what Jesus had done, so she backed off. Later that night she told me “Beto was using a bunch of cuss words when he was talking to you about the Lord…but his heart wasn’t cussing”. She got it.