Warning: This isn't exactly a deep spiritual insight into last Sunday's sermon. It's a rabbit trail based on one of Pastor Allen's comments. But given the number of linguists in our congregation, I thought a brief discussion of idioms might be fun.
I loved the insight into Spanish that Pastor Allen gave when he explained that pointing to the eye and saying "Ojo!" is a way to tell someone to "Watch out!" or "be careful!" [Does everyone know Allen spent some of his growing up years in South America?] He was illustrating verse fifteen of Ephesians, "See then that ye walk circumspectly," or "Be very careful, then, how you live." It is idiomatic that one can say a noun ("eye"), but the hearer will think an action ("Watch").
I have always liked the Chinese idiom for this phrase, pictured at the left. The two words by themselves mean "little" and "heart." It translates to them as "use a little care (heart)" or, of course, "Be careful."
Since there are so many languages represented in our congregation, I wonder what other interesting idioms for this thought you might be able to supply? Or perhaps some other favorite idiom that brings to mind a familiar phrase in English? Feel free to share some in the comments section.
or not....
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