Are You a Trader in Words?
Most mornings I read a saying or story from the Desert Fathers.
For centuries, these men lived in isolation to pray, serve the poor, and live in community. Their sayings have been passed onto us and they’re as relevant as ever. Hundreds of years later they still convict, enlighten, and challenge our hearts to pursue more God and fewer worldly pleasures.
This morning one of these ancient stories struck me.
A certain brother came, once, to Abbot Theodore of Pherme, and spent three days begging him to let him hear a word. The Abbot however did not answer him, and he went off sad. So a disciple said to Abbot Theodore: Father, why did you not speak to him? Now he has gone off sad! The elder replied: Believe me, I spoke no word to him because he is a trader in words, and seeks to glory in the words of another.
Believe me, I spoke no word to him because he is a trader in words, and seeks to glory in the words of another.
This man came to the renowned Abbot Theodore looking for wisdom. He wanted to hear something challenging and enlightening. But for all the wrong reasons.
This man wasn’t looking for wisdom as a means to enjoying God and serving his neighbor.
He was after wisdom so that he could have something to impress others with. To have a good story to tell of the time he met Abbot Theodore of Pherme. He was not seeking Godliness. He was seeking worldly glory.
And so, dear reader, are we.
Smokescreen for Godliness
In our age of social media, this ancient quest to collect words hasn’t disappeared, it has accelerated.
We marvel in the words of another.
We collect sound bites, snippets, and posts.
We like, share, retweet, and bookmark the words of another.
And this easily becomes a smokescreen for godliness. You live off the crumbs of another person’s encounter with God, never encountering God yourself. You live off another person’s wisdom, never becoming wise yourself.
We don’t need to become a trader in Godly words.
Our True Need
We need far fewer words to trade in.
We need to become friends of God.
Intimate companions and sharers in the divine life.
This way of being is far less exciting and infinitely more vital. Often this will not manifest in catchy phrases or godly quotes. It will be imperceptible, making us more others-focused, more gentle, forgiving, patient, and holy. It will make us act more like Jesus to our neighbors in small ways.
Remember Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed?
When sown, it’s the smallest of all plants. But, after sprouting, it becomes the largest “of all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:32). This little, unimpressive plant becomes something marvelous.
It becomes the kind of plant that provides shade for the birds of the air.
When we’re more concerned with cultivating our own communion with God and serving our neighbors in the quiet moments, we might not have “fire” quotes to share but we’ll have plenty of shade to provide.
And that, dear reader, is where we will find the Kingdom of God.