It is a truth universally accepted (in my small universe) that I have a lot of words.
I’ve come a long way from the ninth-grade Intro to Speech student who struggled to find three minutes worth of verbiage for a presentation on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I lost points on that presentation because it clocked in at 2:47. Who was that person?
Nowadays, I can’t introduce myself in less than three minutes, much less discuss the ins and outs of an international conspiracy.
I’m the first to admit that I’m a generous contributor to noise pollution. Even so, I can’t tell you how many words I write and delete—or save as a draft that no one will ever see. This is usually a good thing. Sometimes, God speaks a word through his Word that is intended for me in a hidden place. Sometimes my words come from my weird imagination, and shouldn’t see the light of day. Not every word is meant to be shared.
But there are times when I go too far in the other direction. I can be a spiritual hoarder—keeping a good word from God to myself because I’m afraid of what people will think. Maybe they’ll reject it. Maybe they’ll think I think I know it all. Maybe they’re just tired of hearing my voice.
But it could be that God gave me a word to be shared, and by not passing it along, I’m hoarding it.
What is hoarding?
Bear with me for a minute on this. Hoarding has a broad definition and can be a disorder with many levels of severity. I take it seriously, but I’m using the word loosely. Here’s a definition that expresses what I mean when I use the word in this blog:
HOARDING
the act of saving or storing something, often in secret, because it is important to the hoarder, but may be of little or no value to others.
an admittedly agenda-driven summary taken from various online definitions
I have an ongoing battle with my inner hoarder. After a five-year season of downsizing, I am still sorting through my possessions and tossing unnecessary items. I live in a 70-square-foot RV—but I have a few bins and shelves of “things I might need someday” scattered strategically across the country. I’m not a minimalist by nature. But, out of necessity, I constantly strive to become one.
Why share what God says?
When God saved you and me, he placed us into the body of Christ. We’re each a part of a family. A community. We’re still individuals, but we’re each individually a member of something.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. …Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (ESV)
What does this have to do with hoarding words? I’m getting there, I promise. I’ve been deep-diving into words like dwell, abide, and remain. Here’s a familiar verse I can’t seem to get over.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 (ESV)
Jesus told us to abide in him and to let his Word abide in us (John 15:4-7). This remaining or staying is an intimate state of relationship. It involves me, Jesus, and the Word. Or you, Jesus, and the Word. This is the quiet place of abiding, where we grow in him.
In Colossians, Paul described another state of relationship that is a fruit of abiding. He wrote that the word of Christ could dwell in us richly. This rich dwelling happens in community.
When we abide in Jesus, and his Word (Scripture) abides in us—and we share his word (insight) with one another—we see its rich and abundant fruit.
Want to be rich in the Word of God? Don’t hoard it. One-another it.
- teach one another in wisdom (explain truth)
- admonish one another in wisdom (warn or exhort)
- sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with one another (sacred songs of praise to God)
- do all this thankfulness (acknowledging his goodness)
Your word of Christ is probably not a new word or the final word on the Word. Someone else has probably said it. Someone else will say it in the future. They may even understand it or say it better than you. But there is a one-another who needs to hear it from you, in your words, on this day. And it will dwell deeply in you both.
Who is my one another?
I have a friend who cares for her elderly father in his home. She goes about her daily routine praying, singing, and speaking the truth aloud. Often only God hears. But sometimes her father comments from his bed about something she’s said. Her father is her one another, and the shared word of Christ dwells in them richly.
That same friend and I shoot quick texts or talk on the phone for hours about random thoughts we’ve had about God’s Word—sometimes we teach, sometimes we admonish, and sometimes we praise. We are each other’s one another, and the shared word of Christ dwells in us richly.
Your one another may be a friend, a family member, or a small group. It doesn’t have to be a post on social media, but it can be. While there is community to be found online, it’s probably not the most effective place for the word of Christ to dwell richly.
Here’s the good news. If you know Jesus, you have his Holy Spirit, and he will show you your one another. The Spirit knows who needs to hear your word. Don’t quench his rich work in you or in them by hoarding it.
Come Alongside
As you abide in Christ today and he speaks a word to you, ask the Holy Spirit if it’s a word for a one another and share it.
It doesn’t have to be eloquent. Most of the apostles, who wrote down the Word we read every day, weren’t considered gifted speakers. Paul said he was sent to the churches to preach the gospel—but he didn’t speak with eloquent words. He preferred it that way because he wanted the power of his words to come from the cross, not from his gift of gab (1 Corinthians 1:17). You may remember that Moses protested God’s call on his life, arguing that he wasn’t good with words (Exodus 4:10-12). The man argued with a burning bush.
If you’ve read this far, you’ve heard the word God’s been teaching me lately. I’d love for you to comment on what he’s teaching you from his Word. We can be each other’s one another, and the shared word of Christ will dwell in us richly.
Traveling in Grace,
Christi
That’s a thoughtful word, Christi . . . that will abide with me. Here, again, is a shared Featherston trait: our wordiness. Solon had it. I got it, too. Ugh! But our friends still love us and appreciate our words. So, I will adopt what you have said here. Be careful out there on the road.