The biblical phrase, "beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks" comes from the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Micah. It refers to a time when God's justice will reign, when his rule of love is willingly accepted and all is blessed in the acceptance of his truth and grace. When we're … Continue reading Turning our Sword-Tongues into Pruning Hooks
Wendell Berry--poet, novelist, lover of the land--distills life to its essence, teaching us to value the concrete beauty in the natural world and to question our innumerable ways of wasting days that could be filled with wonder. Wrestling with my own abundant speech and strong need for quiet contemplation, I am drawn to Berry's values … Continue reading The Silence: A Poem By Wendell Berry
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress presents an allegory of the spiritual journey in the form of a dream in which a man named Christian leaves his home in the City of Destruction and undertakes a journey to the Celestial City. Christian meets many people on the hazard-ridden road to which he has been pointed by Evangelist. … Continue reading Bunyan’s Christian Meets Talkative: All Talk and No Action
A soft answer turns back wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. --James 1:20 How often we excuse our angry words, blaming others for our own actions. How often we confuse anger with strength and gentleness with weakness! There is a … Continue reading When Tempted to Fire Back, Remember This
Set a guard before my mouth, Lord. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 This post is part of a series (see A Lenten Invitation from a Babbling Brook: Focus on Speech and Silence). To receive new installments, you’re invited to Follow Sparrowfare by placing your email address in the box in … Continue reading A Prayer for a Guarded Tongue
"Mary's silence is admirable," notes the Navarre Bible's commentary on Matthew 1:19, in which Joseph, distressed and perplexed at the pregnancy of his betrothed, is told in a dream not to be afraid to marry her, "for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Apparently Mary's trust that God would take … Continue reading Pondering Silence and Exuberant Praise: The Example of Mary, Mother of God
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to respond. (Colossians 4:6) When out with friends and the topic is critical of another, let my speech be gracious and kind, protective of the other's dignity. When the tone turns anti-Christian, let my speech be gracious, seasoned with the salt … Continue reading A Simple Rule for Speech
"There is practically no society or gathering in which people do not denigrate others who are absent, discharging their critical zeal upon them. Backbiting is a common, vulgar evil, and a horrible, deadly one." Sins of the Tongue, the source of this quote, is a little book written by a French priest in 1877. In … Continue reading Backbiting: A “Common, Vulgar Evil”
When Jesus Christ was transfigured before Peter, James and John, they saw the glorious divinity of the God-Man. Peter (so lovably like us!) stammered a suggestion: "Lord, it's good that we are here. Let's build three tabernacles! One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!" Then a "bright cloud" overcame them and they … Continue reading Matt Redman: Let My Words Be Few
"What then, is flattery?...The decisive element is this: having an ulterior motive. I address the other not simply to please him or to tell him something that is true. Rather, what I say to him is designed to get something from him!...His dignity is ignored...in order to manipulate him for my purposes. "Basically, what happens … Continue reading Speech without a Partner: Josef Pieper on Flattery
