Trash Talk…Trash Motives

 

By Daniel Cain (David's brother)

 

So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” [Numbers 20:9-10; NIV]

 

By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[Psalm 106:32-33]

 

The above episode from Numbers chapter 20 is one of those difficult passages (see the artist Pieter de Grebber’s 1630 depiction of this here, Moses Striking the Rock). Many read it and try to interpret exactly what Moses did that was improper. Perhaps the best interpretation is to let another part of the Bible do the interpreting. Psalm 106 calls out Moses’ words for what they were: rash…or maybe in 21^st century American lingo—trash. Moses’ mistake was that his words were rooted in trash talk. Wikipedia says trash talk is “a form of spoken insult” but it also usually involves exaggerating one’s own ability and belittles that of an opponent. Maybe one of the most famous trash talkers—or the earliest, at least in my memory—was the heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali, also famous for coining the phrase the “greatest of all time” which even has its own acronym now—“GOAT.”

Someone may say, “OK, but trash talking is pretty harmless, isn’t it?” Isn’t trash talking merely a tactic or technique to try to intimidate your opponent, to unnerve him, and gain a critical advantage in a contest that could be very close? The problem with trash talking is that it exaggerates on the one hand, and ignores the reality of the situation. Displaying humility, and a clear-eyed acceptance of facts is deemed unwise, while bluster and mouthing off, and a motive in making oneself all-important are necessary in order to prevail in the game.

And that last thought is also part of the problem with trash talking, when rash talk—or trash talk—occurs in politics. Running for political office is treated like a game, by many now. Maybe I’m in the minority—it’s hard to tell anymore—but I’m so tired of the trash talking, and the negative ads, and the puffed-up strutting in which specific candidates engage. I want to hear facts, and proposals for solving problems in our society, for making life better—but instead we get trash talk.

 

“Loose lips sink ships.” [from U.S. WWII War Advertising Council, per Wikipedia]

 

Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. [Proverbs 16:18]

 

 

See information on the artwork here: File:MosesStrikingTheRock GREBBER.jpg - Wikimedia Commons…This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.