One great thing about being a reader is being able to participate in The Great Conversation. You learn to recognize quotations and take them and repeat them and tweak them and let them develop your own voice. This is not to be confused with your own truth. Do not under any circumstances try to develop your own truth. But how you express yourself, even in ordinary conversation does matter. 

Clarity of speech is something that Christians in particular should strive after. Speech is a gift from God that we can and should take dominion of. There are better and worse ways of speaking. There is definitely a place for colloquial speech. But we also want to be able to elevate our speech when the occasion calls for it, and to be able to do so in a way that doesn't seem strained or forced.

By reading, collecting, and USING the language of others, we can become funnier, clearer, and more gracious in how we talk.

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