Barak Obama has been President-Elect for eight days. In those eight days, He has met with President Bush, been criticized heavily by Iran and their crazy president, seen the economy get significantly worse, and had his national security briefings (there is no doubt that he learned alot there), and had his first press conference.
The press conference was interesting in the fact that somehow he managed to work Nancy Reagan into the conversation. Even being the great communicator that he is, he has a lot to learn about not saying exactly what he is thinking to the whole world, being very careful about his words and all that. With no tele-prompter and speech writer at his side, things can get a little dicy.
The press conference actually encouraged me. Everyone talks about Him being "on message." He is known to be incredibly disciplined in many areas of life. When it comes to words, that is very useful, especially when every one of them is scrutinized by the entire world. So these small gaffe's that he made in a fifteen minute press conference actually made him seem a bit more human, less robotic, and a little more like me. You could be sure that when he said "Nancy Reagn and seance" in the same sentence that there were "handlers" that were cringing behind the curtain.
When I am preaching, many thoughts "scoot" across my mind . They are not in my notes. I don't preach from a manuscript any more, so I am a little bit more free to "catch" one of those thoughts and use it. But in a split second I have decisions to make. Does it fit? Is it really something that God would want me to say? Is it something that "someone else" wants me to say? Even if it is the right thing to say, is it the right time to say it? All of that comes at once, and then it is gone. I have made the decision. Either I say it, or I let it go.
Most weeks I have a list of those things in my mind at the end of the morning. And I play the game. "Oh, I should have said that!" Or, "Did I really say that?" It is a challenge to turn off my mind and move on. What was said is said. If I need to clean up something, I am usually pretty good at that. I have trusted friends who tell me, "Hey Charlie, that did not come out they way you intended." What is not said, is not said. I can't call all 1100 people back and say, "By the way I forgot to say something very important...so would you meet me at the church at 2PM?
The difference between the President Elect and me is that I have help. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide my words. And when I play the "what if " game at the end of the day, I rest in the fact that I have prayed and believe that God is guiding my words. I also rest in the fact that many people pray for me every day, asking God to guide me as work to prepare messages from His Word each week. That is so reassuring. I am not saying that God guides the President Elects words, or that he doesn't. I just know that I and others ask Him to give me the words to say. And somehow, each week, there is something to say.
The President Elect Obama made a big deal about "change you can believe in." I think he was very wise to tap into the restlessness of our country. He knew that the "change" was going to be the big deal. And now, instead of campaigning, he has to deliver. And that is a totally different deal. He is no longer playing on the sandlots of Chicago illinois... he is the big leagues now. The White House is a long way from the Illinois State House or even the Senate Chambers in Washington D.C. Which means that for the next four or eight years, there is not a word that will be forgotten. There is not a word that will not be examined. Every single word he says and writes will be under scrutiny.
So he needs to watch what he says.... and in that way he is just like the rest of us. Words convey powerful messages. They have many unintended consequences.
I see that in the church . We go through seasons where people, myself included get a little "chatty." And most of the time it is not a big deal, but sometimes it is. But I also see that when things get out of sorts, most people are willing to clean it up.
That is one thing that I will give Obama credit for. . He called Nancy Reagan that night and apologized. I thought that was a pretty good deal. You see, whether you are a preacher, a parent, a principal, physician, President, or President-elect, our words do hurt people. Written, spoken, even thought, words can hurt people. So along with the joy of getting to speak them, sometimes you get the joy of cleaning up the mess too.
As long as you are willing to do that, you get the privilege of speaking some more words...and probably making a mistake or two along the way.
So some advice from Proverbs for all of us... "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." ( Prov. 10:19) .
I think I have said enough for now.
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