Words, Words Words

 

‘Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words!’ I love the classic movie, My Fair Lady. I have very fond memories of watching it with my parents and sister, and of listening to the LP many times in my childhood home. Eliza Doolittle’s outburst against words sprang from her frustration with empty words, spoken by a soppy suitor, Freddie. But the real source of her frustration with words stemmed from being the object of a heartless experiment to retrain her London street-accent and transform her pronunciation to RP, impeccable enough to convince the Professor’s aristocratic mother and friends of her acceptable origins.

James cautions believers to be careful, not with their pronunciation but with their choice of words. We can so easily wound others by a hastily-spoken observation or criticism.

I love words, though. I am so grateful that my mother tongue, (English, obviously), has an enormous choice of words, often drawn into it from foreign languages. There is a richness and diversity which add colour and depth to communication.

In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

We don’t really need a dictionary of words. We only need the one Word. Jesus.

There is no more meaningful, rich and nuanced word than Jesus.

May I choose my words carefully today, both as I write and as I speak, so that all my communication springs from a place of love, of kindness, of gentleness, of compassion and empathy.