G. K. Chesterton and Words

I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller.
- G.K. Chesterton

He is so logical, that Mr. Chesterton. I like his words so much. He can state in a short sentence that which takes someone else paragraphs to relay to the reader. His words free me from the sugary coating that I read sometimes which seem so unnecessary. He was a great debater for the Christian faith back in the early 1900's, and always had something to say which invoked thought from the reader.

It was Chesterton who said:

"What is wrong with the world?
- I am."

In one tiny sentence he opened up the reader's mind to a whole new way of re-arranging our thoughts. That is a good writer. He brings to light what we hold in darkness. Ourselves. We are what is wrong with the world. We try to blame other things and other matters. But it boils down to us.

Chesterton's writings remind me about our words and how they can affect others. We have influence over other people of our acquaintance by words spoken and written, whether we realize it or not. We do not have to be elegant in our verbiage, necessarily, but our words should be carefully selected nonetheless. Chesterton talked a lot and wrote a lot, and his words are selected carefully to provoke thoughtful responses (and even debates) from the audience. We are not all wordsmiths, but we are all word-users, so we should be making the effort to pay attention to the words we use.