Hush

Riding home from church on Sunday night I found myself utterly exhausted.  Sundays are usually full of demanding activity but, for some unknown reason, this past Lord’s Day left me feeling tanked.  My mind was heavy and I couldn’t find anything on the radio in the truck that pleased me.  Advertisers, announcers and about 3 different stations playing music that was too loud, too fast or too aimless compelled me to eventually shut off the radio.  Before completing the 17-mile ride home I became aware that the problem was that I could not process any more words.  I had preached two very lengthy messages that day and had enjoyed a great lunch with my parents and my own family which also had involved much talk.  Greeting new people in both the morning and evening services, plus a couple of miscellaneous meetings scattered during the day had left both my ears and my mouth with protest signs raised high which seemed to have one word scrawled on them in bold, ALL-CAPS font:  “HUSH!”

“…if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” – James 3:2-6 {ESV}

If solid, healthy Sunday conversations can leave a person weary, how much more should we have an intolerance for all the valueless talk that goes on around us?  If you take a few moments and think, you will likely be able to recall something said to you recently that teetered somewhere between ignorant and idiotic.  Silence is a feared commodity in America and our lives can be potentially filled with and characterized by mindless chatter and endless noise.  Can I confess something?  It is not an infrequent thing for me to get sick of the sound of my own voice.  My whole life is built upon communicating and I have a penchant for using more words than are necessary.  My sermons are often long, my blogs are rarely succinct, I debate with a combo of short pauses and then uninterrupted sentences. I’m not nearly as adept at listening as I am at speaking and, if it bothers me at times, it likely bothers others.  I sometimes wonder if it bothers God.

James tells us above that the person who is able to overcome the tenacity of the tongue is a fit candidate to master the other inordinate passions that characterize human beings.  James himself was a no-nonsense teacher and he cares nothing for our feelings as he declares that our mouths can be hellish infernos which burn more easily than they bless.  If it were not so blatantly true, I might be offended at Brother James.  I want to challenge you to do something this week.  Listen to your speech.  Mark what you say as an impartial observer.  If you really want to risk it, ask a few folks who care about you how they would characterize what they hear splashing out of  that fountain between your nose and your chin.  Are your words hopeful?  Sarcastic? Have you mastered the art of flowing criticism? Are your words biting or spoken with an edge?  Do others ever hear you pray or express gratitude and blessing?  What about your tone?  I have marked a dead, flat tone in me when I’m overly tired;  that sound signals to others that I’m closed for the rest of the day.  Too often, irritability is like an ugly, little troll hiding under the bridge of my tongue and popping out to chase away passers-by.  God’s word says that Spirit-controlled believers will have thanking, praising and singing tongues – does that describe you lately?

It’s quiet out there in Blogville.

On June 16th I intend to take a 10 day vacation with my precious three.  I hope there is the sound of much fruitful family banter and laughter, jokes and prayers, kindness and hope – these are words put to a profitable use.  At the end of those 10 days I will leave those three beautiful people back at home and head off somewhere by myself for a week.  That place I go to will be secluded.  Those days will be intentionally quiet.  If I have my way I will not engage in any emails, blogs, sermons or conversations.  Should God show me great favor, I hope not to speak to a single soul during that time.  I’m stealing off on a planned sabbatical to get away from all of life’s noise, including the sound of my own voice.  I intend to do one thing which I hope will supply substance to all that I communicate when those days draw to an end and I resume life.  What is that one thing I aim to accomplish during those sequestered days?  to listen intently to the one Voice that I need more than anything:

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice…” – Hebrews 3:7