Did I say that out LOUD?
 Of course I did. And it’s a neat little joke. Or not so neat if you just offended someone and this is how you try to cover it.
Come to think of it, what would happen if every thought I had was out loud? Some would be fine. But there are those that simply pop into my head before I even have a chance to think about them (Can you have a thought without thinking about it? Hmmm.)
Some thoughts should never be said out loud. They need immediate dismissal to the thought dungeon.
Then there are other situations. She who loves me comes out in a new outfit.
“What do you think of this?”
“You look . . .”
At this point my brain is a scrambling thesaurus, searching for the right word. Fortunately she doesn’t get to hear the scramble, only the words I choose to say. Unfortunately, I may choose badly.
“You look . . .”
Awful is not a good word right now. Stunning is eminently acceptable, but only if it’s true.
“You look . . .” needs an ending and thankfully this word searching takes about half a nanosecond. You can always call on the power of “um” if you need another half a nanosecond.
“You look, um . . .”
If every thought were out loud you’d be a nonstop talker and an incredibly fast talker. As for me, if everything I thought came out I’d be wearing a paper bag balaclava on my head so people wouldn’t recognise me. I wouldn’t have any friends.
And what about God? He knows our thinking. It’s embarrassing when I remember those thoughts I dwelled on that should have been quickly sin-binned.
Yet the One who knows the most about me, including what I’d never want to say out loud, loves me the most. He’s the One who’s dying—sorry, who died—to make me part of His family despite who I am.
Wow! His actions tell me what He’s thinking.
Meanwhile back at SWLM, I say, “You look, um, great. It’s a pity about the outfit.”
I didn’t say that last bit out loud, did I?
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Bruce Manners (left) is senior pastor of
the Avondale College church.