Reading, Saying Words Make A Difference

The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge.

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

I was a huge fan of the Jerry Seinfeld show. A show about nothing. One of the recurring characters of the show was Newman. Newman and Jerry had a checkered past. They both immensely disliked each other. When Newman was introduced the audience didn’t know the back-story, but we immediately knew that Newman was a “villain” by the tone of Jerry’s voice.

“Hello, Newman.” Jerry would spit out through gritted teeth.

A simple phrase when written down seems innocent enough. But reading the words and saying the words make a world of difference.

Things like inflection and emotion are lost in translation when we write them down. I can’t help but think of Newman and Jerry when I read this verse from the apostle Paul. Did he write the verse with an inflection of resigned exasperation? Did he want certain words stressed? What was the back-story? Was a Jerry and a Newman involved?

When we read the Bible we have a tendency to read in a monotone voice. We just don’t expect emotion to be involved with the words on the page. The verse seems completely different if we read it like, “I’m telling YOU! FORGIVE as the Lord saw fit to FORGIVE YOU!”

Oh. Right. We did something that we needed forgiveness for.

Today when forgiveness may seem a bit hard to offer use a bit of inflection on yourself. You’ll see things in a whole new way.