Get One Good Word

One of my favorite poems is called “Loaves and Fishes” by David Whyte:

This is not
the age of information.
This is not
the age of information.
Forget the news,
and the radio,
and the blurred screen.
This is the time of loaves
and fishes.
People are hungry,
and one good word is bread
for a thousand.

We are surrounded by bad words. By “bad words” I don’t mean “swear words” so much as wasteful or harmful words. Every day, we are invited to an all you can eat buffet of content. I consume a lot of content, I’ll admit. But human beings can’t live on content alone. We are desperate for good, timely, life-giving words.

No wonder those 3^rd century seekers would approach the desert fathers and mothers with the soul-deep supplication: “Abba/Amma give me a word.”

One good word can nourish us better than a buffet of content.  

One good word can do the work of a thousand wasteful words.

One good word is “bread for a thousand.”  

So I invite you to go on a spiritual word search. Go get your “one good word.” Or receive it. Or overhear it.

Note that “word” can have multiple meanings. It can be a single element of communication, a divine revelation, or even a discussion. You may recall the dread you’ve felt when someone asked to “have a word” with you.

So, maybe it’s literally one good word. A singular word from scripture or a poem or a stranger. You are reading and there’s a word that “shimmers” or stands out to you. You are listening and there’s a word that disturbs or delights you. That’s your word.

Or maybe it’s a phrase, a sentence, or even a verse. A line from a song catches you by surprise. A Bible verse you memorized as a child comes to mind. A movie quote makes you laugh or cry. That’s your word.

What do you do when you’ve found it?

Here’s where it gets weird. To draw nourishment and energy from our word, we have to eat it. That’s what God told some prophets, anyhow. Content can just be consumed but real food has to chewed and digested. I would say “consider the cows of the fields” but I don’t want it to get gross.

Practically speaking: You can write in on a notecard and turn it into a breath prayer. Draw it as a picture, paint it on a canvas. Research its etymology, discuss it with a friend. Pray with it, meditate on it, journal about it. Leave it and return to it.  

Give the word to Spirit and it might even become a Word — a “living and active” Word (Heb. 4:12) that “won’t return void” (Isaiah 55:11). A divinely spoken Word that speaks to your condition.

Here’s another good thing about having one good word hidden in your heart, especially as a leader. It’s not only there when you need it; it’s there if someone else needs it.

As ministers of many kinds, we never know when someone might come to us and say “Friend, give me a word.” Or maybe, “What’s the good word?” Of course, we ultimately want them to discover their own word. But also, “deep calls to deep” and “good word calls to good word.” It’s called a conversation. There are few things we need more than deep, lingering, lively conversations of consequence. And it starts with one word.