Renew Your Mind

If you took a straw poll of educated, professional people- perhaps those you work with, your Facebook friends, or the coffee queue at Starbucks- what might be the last talk that they listened to? Those who are regular church attenders might say last Sunday’s sermon, but probably the majority would mention a TED talk. TED talks have become a modern phenomenon. Speakers such as Amy Cuddy on body language, Simon Sinek on great leaders or Brené Brown on vulnerability have been watched by millions of people, and have become well-known names. It is easier to listen to a talk online for 20 minutes than to read a book. (Although watching a TED talk may lead to reading the book later.) It’s also more compelling watching and listening to a speaker. The quality of the presentations is high- the slickness of the technology enables the speaker to use a style that persuades us that this is informal and even personal- even though we know we are watching online!  Should we applaud the fac...

Larkin’s poem “Talking in Bed” ends with these lines… It becomes still more difficult to find Words at once true and kind, Or not untrue and not unkind. I’m not sure whether this observation is sad, or maybe the best we can hope for? Is it perhaps better than the alternative- words that are untrue and unkind? In the TV world of American public life, portrayed by series such as The Good Wife, characters spend most of their time speaking words which are neither true nor kind. We are led to believe that public discourse, whether in the media, politics or the law, is all about power, manipulation and revenge. The last thing anyone seems interested in is whether the words are true- until the lies become personal and hurtful, of course. Perhaps the compromise Larkin suggests is better than this- can we at least agree to speak to one another in a way that is “not untrue and not unkind”? Yet God expects more than this of His children. We are to seek truth and kindness…and ...