All in the Way You Say It

Sometimes it's difficult to find the right words when you have something to say. It can be even more diffi­cult when you're trying to find a kind way of express­ing something that isn't so good.

One day a young lad brought home a report card. In the section for teachers' comments there was the following notation.

'Young Sam is very adept in the creative use of visual aids for learning."

The father of the boy read the comments and, with keen insight into his son, knew the teacher was trying to say something beyond what was written. The following day the dad called the teacher. His question was simple: "What is the creative use of visu­al aids in learning?"

On the other end of the phone the teacher hesi­tated and then said, "That means he copies from the student in the next seat."

The world we live in teaches us to say things in a correct way. The challenge for preachers and teach­ers is that we communicate the truth of God's Word in clear and understandable ways. But in doing that we must be careful not to cloud the truth with flow­ery language that might obscure the meaning.