By Pastor/Minister William Wilmore, Jr.
My sisters and brothers… the title of this sermon is borrowed from the rich colloquial legacy of the African American experience. It’s one of those hidden message phrases that has been passed down from one generation to another in the black community. For the most part, black folk don’t talk like that anymore, but I’m reminded of a time when there was great wisdom to be gleaned from phrases used by “Big Momma” and them.
For instance…
— When someone wanted something but had no money to buy it, they used to say:
“Charge it to the dust and let the rain settle it.”
— If someone did you wrong, you didn’t waste your time trying to get even, for they told us: “What goes around, comes around.”
— They told us to be friendly to everybody by saying, “Shake every hand you meet, because you never know who you may have to beg for a piece of bread one day.”
— If a man or a woman talked too much, they said: “They got tongue enough for 10 rows of teeth.”
— They taught us that appearances can be deceptive by saying: “Just because a chicken has wings don’t mean it can fly.”
— If we had plans for the next day and were serious about getting them accomplished, they taught us to say: “I’ll do it tomorrow if the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise.”
… And of course, the one that I’ve borrowed for the title of this sermon: “Every shut eye ain’t sleep, and every goodbye ain’t gone,” which meant that one must look beneath the surface of situations if you really want to understand life, or understand people.