Food for Saints: Evangelical

A poem about speaking the truth aloud

For discussion: Amelia here. The narrator of this satirical poem uses Scripture to justify staying silent. What are some Scriptures you might use to rebut these arguments, Jesus-in-the-wilderness style?

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Did a phrase in this poem strike a chord? Please use the text version below to re-stack it.

Evangelical
I’ll stay inside the safety of the mouth¬
no need for the body or the brain
to expend the effort of making
the little, soft, warm tongue
into the sharp shape of a truth
or a nimble word of hope,
and don’t try to undermine my decision
by writing it down for later!

As a reminder:
All pearls will stay safely
locked up in their jewel cases
[ as a precaution against trampling ]. ?
Never mind that they were a costly
donation meant for giving away,
and the nearest livestock
are miles, miles away.

‘Ration your heart’ say the stoics,
‘and control your tongue,’ says James,
‘and watch your mouth!’ says Mom.

But here is an ear ¬
battered
by the hurricane of media,
an ear to hear,
with a brother on a heading
toward the indifference of the stoics,
a childlike ear repeatedly shushed by James
and left sunburnt to peel under Mom’s
impatience – ‘Will you just hurry up?!’
No, I’m just trampling this
lost little ear real quick,
helping it suffocate quietly under
my heel so I can get back to counting my
hoard of pearls.
(Alone,
in silence.)

– C. Evans Erickson