Let’s start at the very beginning. I hear it’s a good place to start. The first idiom we are going to explore is probably a bit obvious.
‘to gild the lily’
It’s not my favorite one, but when I ran across it in a book, I just felt like it should be the title of this series on idioms. I’ll explain why later, so hang with me.
First of all, it seems important to note that this particular phrase comes from Shakespeare – of course it does – and we have all been misquoting it – of course we have. Originating from the play King John, our friend Will writes:
Therefore, to be possess’d with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful, and ridiculous excess.
Shakespeare, King John. Act IV.
Still with me?
Ok, good….I thought I may have lost you to flashbacks of high school Shakespeare class. Scary stuff. Thanks for not nodding off into a puddle of drool.
So the phrase really is “to paint the lily”. That was new information to me. When I learned that, I immediately found myself asking before I had time to think, “Why in the world would you want to paint a lily? They’re so pretty already.” And that’s also when I realized why Mr. Shakespeare was a master of his craft. Well done, sir, well done.
The whole point of this speech in Act IV was to expose how ridiculous it would be for the king to have a second coronation. It was a bit silly. Like painting a lily that’s already breathtaking in its own array, or perfuming a flower that already smells of a heavenly breeze. No need to be all extra, King John. It doesn’t make sense.
Or does it?
Something I’ve been learning this past year is how we humans love to imitate our Creator. We find all sorts of ways to express the beauty and wonder we see by His hand. We try so hard to reproduce what we see. Humanity’s finest effort is merely a reflection of the original artist.
The beautiful things we do, from baking bread in a stuffy kitchen to chalking up a sidewalk with our children; from creating a new world in Minecraft to cultivating a garden, it’s all our level best imitation of the true Talent.
Buried deep within us all, whether you believe in God or not, is the seed of wonder at all that is wondrous.
Kids show wonder the most, because they see wonder the clearest. Oh, to have the sight of a child!
So, maybe Shakespeare made his point to his audience, but I say, why not go ahead and do a little gilding? Or painting? Or perfuming? Or whatever excessive ridiculousness comes to mind.
Maybe it is a bit excessive to pick apart what we say. Maybe it is a tad ridiculous to try to find bits of beauty and wonder and humor in odd phrases and pithy sayings. Could I be doing more lofty things with my time? Meh… probably. Could you? Please don’t answer that.
My take on it is this: here we are, together, marveling at the nuances and stories hidden in our language. Learning (hopefully) and laughing (maybe) and if we’re being a little silly, well…so be it. The Giver gave us words. We’re unique in that way. We’re special. And if we gild a few lilies, it’s merely a nod to the OG.
The Original Gilder.
Assignment: Tell me in the comments your thoughts on the phrase: ‘to gild the lily’. What wonders do you see? What wonders do you create?
Longing & Belonging 
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