Shane J. Wood

“After emotionally scarring the fourth college student with this shame tactic, I sat Zion down and explained: “Son, let me be more clear about our rule: You can’t say the word ‘stupid.’ Other people can.” This simply didn’t compute in my rule-following, cautious firstborn. So I made another run at it: “It’s like this, buddy. Do Mommy and Daddy let you play with knives?” He shook his head with furrowed brow. “No,” I continued, “because they’re sharp and they could hurt you. But one day, you’ll be old enough where you’ll be able to use a knife without hurting yourself and without Mommy and Daddy’s permission. It’s just right now, you can’t handle a knife. It could hurt you or you could hurt other people with it. But one day, you’ll be able to handle it.” He nodded. So I continued: “Words are the same way, buddy. They’re sharp, powerful. And there are just some words that you’re not ready to handle yet. Like the word ‘stupid.’ But one day, when you’re older, you’ll know exactly how to use words like ‘stupid’ in a way that doesn’t hurt you or anyone around you. But that day isn’t today.” I think God’s command in Genesis 2 is the same. It’s not that Adam and Eve could never eat from the tree, but not today. They just couldn’t handle it. And God knew it. So he forbade it.”
― Shane J Wood, Between Two Trees: Our Transformation from Death to Life