The Importance Of Placement

There's an old play/movie called The Odd Couple where a very neat person lives with a sports slob. The neat one, Felix, has just made a plate of spaghetti. Oscar, the sports guy, gets in an argument of some type. He says, "See that spaghetti. It's dinner." He throws it against the wall where the sauce splashes all over and noodles drip down. "Now," he says, "Now, it's garbage."

I have always remembered that scene because it was so funny and interestingly enough, profound. Things in one place can be great, but in another, not so good. I love eating salads in restaurants. If I get some lettuce, especially with dressing on the table, it bothers me. I don't want to look at it. I try to push it under my plate or hide it with a napkin. It's just lettuce, I know.

Words we speak can be like this. You can't cry "FIRE" in a crowded room unless you see one, but it you are witnessing a real fire, you better scream all you can. When a person is sad, you don't want to tell them the latest joke. You want to console them and pray. Words I may say in one situation to a person on a certain day might hit the mark and be all wrong on another.

Placement is important. When the time is right, even criticism can be good. You can correct a child lovingly or exhort a person who asks for help. You can't just speak against anything at anytime. The Bible says "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Pr.25:11 NKJ.

I want my words and my actions to be given with wisdom and discernment. I'm reaching for this. I want my offerings to be food, like good home cooked spaghetti, not garbage.