tintinnabulation

In all my years of reading, writing and public speaking I've gained quite a
wide vocabulary. In fact I know lots more words than I can ever use (or
would want to). It's rare that I come across a word with which I am
unfamiliar, but I did this week. I figured out the meaning from the context
though. I asked my wife if she had ever heard of it and she hadn't either,
so we looked it up. The word: "tintinnabulation".

I make it a practice to speak and write as simply as possible. I don't like
to use words which are unfamiliar or hard to understand and really don't
understand why someone would choose to do otherwise. I do understand that
some folks believe it gives them the appearance of having a "higher" level
education than others when they can spout what my daddy would have called
"ten dollar words". Some believe it gives their words more credibility or
causes them to somehow sound wiser. It's been my experience, for the most
part, that it either confuses people of turns them off to listen to someone
who tries to speak this way.

Does this have an application for our spiritual life today? I believe it
does! First, too often today, people want to (as the scripture puts it) have
someone scratch their itching ears. Paul writes: "For a time is coming when
people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will
follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them
whatever their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3) In other words,
the one who can excite them or fits into the latest craze is the one they
listen to. God's words takes on a secondary importance. Many people choose
to attend churches simply because of the eloquence of the preacher's
lessons, not because he speaks The Truth of God's Word.

Second, preachers, teachers and church leaders need to be less concerned
with how polished their message is and more concerned with how close it
stays to the Word of God. Paul writes:
"For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News, and not
with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!
But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God." (1
Corinthians 1:17-18, NLT) Another translation of these words reads, "not
with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its
power". (NIV)

So what's your focus, the simplicity of the Gospel or "clever words"? You
see, the meaning of tintinnabulation is very simply, "the ringing or sound
of bells". There is an old hymn that we used to sing as I was growing up in
church. It has no basis in scripture, but I still like it. Perhaps you know
the hymn yourself that goes like this: "There's a land beyond the river,
That we call the sweet forever, And we only reach that shore by faith's
decree; One by one we'll gain the portals, There to dwell with the
immortals, When they ring the golden bells for you and me. (Chorus) Don't
you hear the bells now ringing? Don't you hear the angels singing? 'Tis the
glory hallelujah Jubilee. In that far off sweet forever, Just beyond the
shining river, When they ring the golden bells for you and me."

Somehow, "when they tintinnabulate the golden bells," just doesn't carry the
same meaning. I think I like the simple words the best, my ears just don't
itch for the fancy or clever words. What about you? Solomon the wise king
once said, "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of
silver," (Proverbs 25:11) I think he was right.


--Russ Lawson

Russ Lawson, Messages From The Heart

Blog: http://messages-from.blogspot.com

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