A Good Story, A Weighty Word

In the beginning, God created… God said “Let there be light…and there was light.” With a word, substance came into being. That which was not, has now appeared. Because of a word. I’ve always thought God spoke, but after reading C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew, I like to think God beautifully sang words and with them, created all that is. It seems that God’s words, however they were rendered, brought sun and moon, stars and planets, water and earth, animals and plants, and humankind. Everything that is—Word. By. Word.

Same book, in a nearby verse, the writer of Genesis, the first book in the Hebrew Bible, makes sure that the Hebrew people know that all people are made in the image of God. ALL people…made in the image of the Creator. And as such, we have the power to use our words in meaningful and creative ways. With our words we can spew venom or we can create an environment of warmth and comfort. With words we condemn or we are a balm over a wounded spirit. Words bridge divides, offer wisdom, extend hope. Words judge, wound, and minimize. With the words we speak, we are able to give off the frangrance of life or the stench of decay. It’s a choice.

The Hebrews, and pretty much all people groups prior to the printing press when everyone learned to read and write themselves, used story to communicate the truths of life as they understood them. They told the stories of their people—of their beginnings, God’s promises and presence, the wanderings of the faithful, the pains of the unfaithful, slavery and deliverance. In the Christian Scriptures, they told stories of Jesus’ miracles, repeated the teachings he gave among them, recounted his death and resurrection to one another, and told about the places where the early church was struggling and thriving. Story.

Stories ground people. Stories remind people of who they are. Stories remind people how the Creator has been faithful and where there is evidence of God’s work and way coming to life in the world. Stories can inspire hope, throw down a challenge, empower the timid, and wake the sleeping. And as we understand that our words can create and are weighty, it’s even more important to choose the stories we tell carefully.

Confession… I can be good at forwarding a worrisome story that communicates scarcity, is dim-sighted, and lends to skepticism or disenchantment. But that’s not the energy I want to put out into the world. There is enough negativity, darkness, grief, and dissatisfaction coming to life in the stories being told by all of us… with our politicians, corporate giants, and many story-spinners at the helm… stirring a big dark cauldron. But the drink offered is a bitter one that doesn’t support life.

Better words, woven together, can create better stories. And, better stories, offered into the world can lift a sister and mend a brother, prompt childlike wonder and lend to celebrations.

May stories of joy help parties break out. May stories of kinship draw people together in affection. May stories of goodness and generosity crack the shells of hard hearts. May our creative words bring into being love and life, hope and joy, peace and welcome. Words matter. Words give life to the stories they tell. In a culture that is spinning negative messages, pedaling lies, and overwhelming the landscape with division and hatred, let’s tell our stories wisely and with intention—ushering wonder, hope, and gratitude into our midst. Word. By. Beautiful. Word.

To be, or not to be… that is the question.

A quote from Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play. Never before have I thought about this phrase quite like I am tonight.

I’ve always thought of this phrase as a heady consideration—an ultimately existential question.

Am I real and here or am I not real, which inevitably means I can’t be here.

But what if it means more than simply am I here or not?

What if it is about the “how” of our here-ness?

Like this: To be a kind friend or not to be… that is the question.

You see what I’m getting at?

The phrase then becomes a personal inventory prompt, right?

Let’s try a few of the questions, then.

To be generous or not to be generous? To be gracious and merciful or not to be?

To be thankful and attentive to blessings or not to be?

To be kind or not to be. To be faithful and true or not. To be given to spiritual pursuits or not. To be a continuous learner or not. To be intentional about how a day is spent or not. To be respectful, honoring others as sacred beings or not. To be a caregiver for creation or not. To be a dancer, a dreamer, an artist, a thinker. To be scientific, theological, philosophical, or thoughtful. To be uninhibited, free, exploring or to be reserved, contained, and limited. To be judgy or accepting.

That’s enough to get thoughts churning, isn’t it?

Maybe it’s not about existing.

Maybe it is about how we choose to exist.

Perhaps that’s the question?