Keith Battle - If Walls Could Talk

I want to discuss a subject today: «If Walls Could Talk.» I am not a TV watcher; I barely, if ever, watch any programming on television. Sometimes I may watch sporting events, but I just don’t watch television. The reason I know what’s on TV at all is that I overhear people conversing about what they’re watching. Based on those conversations, I tend to gather what’s happening in the world of television. Then, on those occasions over the years when I sit down with my wife to watch her favorite channel, HGTV, I’ve learned the names of some shows. I know about «Property Brothers,» «Design on a Dime,» «Love It or List It,» and «Flip or Flop.» However, while researching HGTV, I found a list of the top 50 shows that the network has aired since its inception, and I was surprised to learn that the number two show of all time on HGTV, according to one source, is a show called «If Walls Could Talk.» I had never heard of it, nor had I seen it until this week while preparing for this message. I thought, let me take a look at some highlights from this show.

As I watched the highlights, I must admit that, on one hand, it was a bit ominous, kind of dark. But on the other hand, the show’s premise is that even though houses can’t talk and walls can’t talk, every house has a story. I said every house has a story. In these scenes, people are buying houses that have been owned by others for a long time. When they move into the house, they don’t discover its story until they do some kind of renovation. During the renovation, they typically find things behind the walls, and the walls begin to reveal elements that tell the history of the house.

While reflecting on this in connection with Mother’s Day and the passage that states, «A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands,» I started to draw a connection between the show and the message, as well as our experiences today. I came to realize that many women here, in Landover, and online—you really have to think about it—none of us truly know what goes on inside their homes. That’s right. I mean, when you think of it, how could you know? Most of us have developed a kind of privacy that outsiders looking in can’t really understand.

But what if walls could talk? We live in a time that has become so desocialized due to the advent of technology and the global pandemic; we don’t have as many gatherings in our homes as we used to. There aren’t cookouts happening like before, or card games, or people just coming by the house. Now, we’ve limited the footprint of activity in our homes to a tight-knit group of family and friends that we trust, and perhaps a few professionals providing services now and then. For the most part, it remains a mystery regarding what is truly happening inside our homes.

But what if walls could talk? What if we mic’d up the sheetrock? What if the drywall did a sound check and started telling the story of what was happening in your house? That would be some piping hot tea right there! What if the walls didn’t just have mouths and voices, but what if they had ears and could tell us, «You won’t believe what I hear in this house»? And what if the walls also had eyes to share what they’ve seen? What if they had emotions and feelings, able to convey the vibe and environment in this house? If you’re tracking with me right now—whether you’re in Landover or Greenbelt—lean over to someone and say, «I’m going to tell my walls to plead the Fifth!» Tell somebody, «I’m going to tell my walls to plead the Fifth!» In fact, when I get home, I’ll read my walls their Miranda rights: «You have the right to remain silent.»

These questions aren’t meant to make anyone feel sad because all of us have good in our homes. No house is all bad; there’s something good in every household. However, doesn’t this question level the playing field? When you pause to ask, «What if your walls could talk?"—it doesn’t matter what your square footage is. It doesn’t matter how prominent the neighborhood is. It doesn’t matter if you live in a mansion or a one-room efficiency. At the end of the day,