“…and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
—Deuteronomy 6:7
When the kids see 6-7, they say, “Six, seven!”
The meaning? Don’t ask, just enjoy the game.
It’s an old sport of common recognition where, if you know, you know. The meaning is in the sheer joy of connection – the numbers and words, mere mirror shows.
In fact, the more absurd the babble, the better the inside joke. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t, don’t.
When the kids see 6-7, “six, seven!” is what they say. That’s it. That’s all. That’s the entire game.
Ah, to be a kid again! I remember those early days, sustained by an outsized love of worldly games. Yet, now the games don’t seem to bear the weight of my days. They may distract for a little while – a laugh here, a smile there – but eventually, I am left stumbling under the load of my futility and despair. I have seen myself play so many games I have become almost blinded to the spirit of play. My appetite grows tasteless, yet my hunger does not go away.
That’s the mistake I suspect so many make as they carry on day after wayward day – that any worldly games will do (doot doot) – until first things are forgotten and hope is placed on branches without root.
So, feeling the branches crack under my seat, I pray for a connection I cannot see, and I hope that by faith I may enjoy the spirit of the games again.
What if a mere meme could be anchored in the unseen? What if, every time I heard “six, seven!” – I could laugh quietly, reminded of all the things 6-7 can mean?
There’s Ecclesiastes 6:7, “All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied,” as Solomon’s wisdom hits almost too close to home.
Then there’s Psalm 6:7, “My eye wastes away because of grief, it grows weak because of all my foes,” and as David’s lament for sick sinners sees through the blindness of my despair, I begin to hear Paul’s sixes and sevens resounding in the skull beneath my hair.
First comes Romans 6:7 on how we are set free. Galatians 6:7 warning, “Do not be deceived … for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.” Ephesians 6:7 on sowing the seeds of Christian dignity amidst bondage and iniquity.
Don’t forget Matthew 6:7 – Christ’s words here should sting the modern ear (at least for those who can still hear) – “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words.”
We are more “connected” than ever, not by first things but worldly games – virtual diversions, distractions or worse. Each day is a flood of memed empty phrases, as the temptations of mere connection outshine good faith in our words.
So, when the kids say “six, seven!” let them have their fun for the day, but pray we keep first things in common much more than the worldly games we play, especially when we feel our childlike spirit waning with the decay of our days.
When the kids say “six, seven!” laugh, but teach them all the things 6-7 can mean, from Genesis to Revelation, just as it says in Deuteronomy (6:6-7):
“And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL, M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances, as well as any feedback, please email [email protected]. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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