Recently in a church service when my pastor was speaking to the young children who were gathered at the front of the sanctuary, eagerly engaged with him and his messages to them, he told them that that each of them was precious in God’s eyes. Afterwards, he turned to the whole congregation to share with us that children need to receive the message that they are precious rather than only hearing that they are special. This was a new concept for me and one that I am embracing. I think you may have the same response when you learn how these two words have very different connotations.
I turned to some research to share with you. According to CoPilot, “Special” refers to something unique or distinguished, while “precious” emphasized high value, love, or rarity.
Special describes something that is distinguished by a unique or unusual quality, or something set apart from the ordinary. It can refer to events, objects, or people that are notable or exceptional in some way, such as “a special occasion” or “a special friend”.
Precious conveys a sense of high value, whether sentimental, emotional, or monetary. It often implies something cherished, rare, or delicate, like “a precious gem,” “precious memories,” or “a precious child.” Precious can also intensify the emotional significance of something, making it stronger than “special” in terms of affection or worth.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “special” means “being in some way superior” while “precious” means “highly esteemed or cherished.” (Some of you may remember the 2007 song “Cherish” by The Association that begins with “Cherish is the word I use to describe all the feelings that I have hiding here for you inside”.)
Consider the people in your life who are precious to you. These are people you cherish. You may think of the children, and/or other family members and friends in your life. They may have special talents and display special skills, but these are different from embracing them as precious.
Special is not a bad word or one we should not use. Many moments we experience or see others experience are special. So many moments at the winter Olympics highlighted athletes who qualify as being special. A favorite family recipe may be special. Items in your house may be special perhaps because they are heirlooms. And you may also cherish them. We also may have felt many of the athletes were precious, people to be honored and appreciated for who they are.
Obviously this brief description my pastor shared raised my awareness of how I now want to embrace the differences between these two terms in order to be more accurate about what I want to express. I think it can impact how a child or adult will feel about themself, not because of what they do, rather because of who they are.
Invitation for Reflection
- Have you ever considered how the word “precious” differs from “special?”
- How might describing a child as precious create a different belief than describing that child as special?
- As a child, were you described as precious by your family? What was or would have been the impact of receiving that description?
- Are there children or adults in your life that you will now describe as precious?
Diane Wagenhals
Director Emeritus, Lakeside Global Institute