An Apt Reply

                 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! (Proverbs 15:23)

                Oo. An apt reply! It’s the perfect response to what that person said. Just perfect. Too bad it came to mind three days later. Of course we find joy in them. They’re like that one out of 1000 puzzle pieces. It has to be there, it fits perfectly, and it makes the whole picture make sense (or so we think at the time.)

                “So why didn’t you tell me this four days ago!” A timely word is just as valuable. It prevents the rush to do “the impossible” tonight before bed because this is the first we’ve heard about it. Or, its failure is that comment dropped in the middle of a conversation at a major family dinner. “Oops. Why does he insist on bringing up that topic?”      

                What would characterize an apt reply that you would enjoy giving? If you watch TV or read books, apt replies tend to put the other person in his/her place. They’re usually a humorous jab that shows your intellectual, linguistic,  and general superiority. The timely word tends to be the one said in public at the precise moment to do the greatest damage to the other person’s ego and reputation. There’s at least a feeling of competition involved. Now, turn the tables. If another person were to speak an apt and timely word to you, what would characterize it? I imagine some would enjoy the jab because it’s part of the competition – at least if it’s clever. But it’s likely that most people would prefer an apt and timely response that does the opposite. It builds the person up. It might or might not be in public, but it wouldn’t be competitive and it wouldn’t be designed to make you look bad and the speaker to seem intellectually, linguistically, or generally superior except in the sense that their superiority adds to the positive effect. A college professor complementing a paper would likely be a more apt reply than a first grader’s doing so.

                This doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when an apt and timely reply cannot correct or criticize, but it is for the benefit of the hearer(s), not the destruction. I need to work on this.