Tip of My Iceberg

Ryken randomly found a bunny costume in his pile of clothes.

I wish I could say that was unexpected, but with our family, the unexpected is more our norm. It wasn’t the costume that was the surprise; it was what he chose to do with it.

Because there was space in the bunny suit for creative additions, Ryken chose to add two soccer balls to his bottom to give the impression of a substantial booty.

His younger brother, not to be outdone, added two smaller balls to his own shorts. They scootered to our house, causing laughter to erupt from cars as they passed by.

I guess you could call them the Booty Brothers.

I couldn’t hold back the laughter. When you add excess pieces or poundage to body parts, the embellished area becomes a focus of fun. A physical hyperbole. An exaggeration that causes grins and giggles.

I tend to speak hyperbolically. It’s been a habit for years, but speaking in terms of excess, magnifying a statement to make a point, has gotten me into trouble on occasion, especially with younger people who don’t understand sarcasm when they hear it.

“I’ve gone over this with you a billion times!” Well, no, I haven’t. But it makes a point.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a brontosaurus.” Impossible. First, they no longer exist. Second, I can’t imagine they’re that tasty.

Magnifying a statement to make a point has been an effective communication tool for a long time. Jesus Himself used exaggerated statements to make a point, helping people understand deep spiritual truths that were more complex and universal than simple facts.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made it a point to speak against the toxicity of judging others. He used an example, speaking in hyperbole, that made the point clear.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5.

Jesus painted a picture with broad strokes to show the dramatic need to consider how judging others can blindside us to what we’re missing in our own lives.

When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, they came to Canaan, the land God had promised them. Twelve spies were sent, one from each of the tribes, to explore the land and report back on it and the people.

Ten of the spies reported back in fear. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!… We even saw giants there,…Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” Numbers 13:31, 33. Fear caused these men to see what wasn’t there, to be overwhelmed by what wasn’t real. Instead of trusting God for what He had promised, they became sidetracked by what they perceived to be true.

Exaggerated conversation can result from excitement, fear, or the intent to make a point. Hyperbole is effective in catching people’s attention and highlighting something you see as significant.

The Booty Brothers were highlighting the humor of their costumes. Jesus used the embellished words to point out necessary truths.

The question is: How many gazillions of times do we have to hear something before we’ll believe it?