Choosing the right word
When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who was determined to increase her class’ vocabulary. Often when reading in class, she would stop and ask if we knew the meaning of a word we had just read. If not, we would have to look it up in the glossary or dictionary. By the time we had found it and discussed it, we may have learned a new word but had forgotten what it was that we were reading. However, it paid off. Words are important if we are to describe something accurately or express ourselves adequately. There are thousands of words in our English language and every year new ones are being added.
There were some words my teacher insisted were not words; for example, ain’t. Yet, I still found it in my Webster’s Dictionary. Back in grade school I learned the longest English word was antidisestablishmentarianism. However, that was before supercalafragilisticexpialadoucious. Neither of these words appears in my dictionary, but then again, I may have misspelled them. Some words are spelled the same way forward and backward. Such words, like racecar and level, are called palindromes. Some English words cannot by rhymed. Purple, silver, and orange are three colorful examples. There are two words in the English language that contain all five vowels in order. They are abstemious and facetious. Dreamt is the only English word ending in the letters “mt”. If you type on a keyboard, you might be interested to know that “stewardesses” is the longest word typed entirely with the left hand. “Lollipop” is the longest word typed with the right hand. On the average, 56% of typing is done with your left hand. I’m not sure what these obscure facts have to do with anything important, but they are interesting to note.
One thing that I do know is that it is important to choose your words carefully. Words are powerful. They can get you in and out of a lot of trouble. (If you don’t believe me ask anyone who has spoken the words I do to the one they love.) Please and thank you are words that have often helped me stay out of trouble. Then again, sometimes it is the words I don’t say that have really kept me out of trouble.
During the season of Lent, my intention is to reflect on the words I use. Do they adequately say what I am thinking? Do they make a positive or negative impact on the person or people who hear me? Do they express what God wants me to say? My hope is that I will listen to myself with a little more care and choose words that will bring Christ’s love and truth to others.
Father Jeff