We all have something thumping beneath the floorboards of our lives while the world sits calmly above. The internal noise can be maddening, but there is a way to finally silence the drum.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, a man is driven to madness by an old man’s pale, filmy “vulture” eye. When he can take it no more, he kills the man and hides his body under the floorboards of his house.
When the police arrive, the killer is so arrogant—or so manic—that he invites them in. He brings chairs into the room and sets them directly over the spot where the remains are hidden. The officers, in no hurry to leave, sit there smiling and engaging in pleasant conversation.
The Unbearable Thump
But as they chat, the killer grows paler. He begins to hear a sound. A low, dull, quick sound—”such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.” It is the beating of the old man’s heart. Louder and louder it thumps, driving the man to the brink of insanity, exacerbated by the officers’ casual smiles.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. The pressure broke him. He shrieked, “I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!”
He had to expose the secret to stop the noise.
Smiling While Screaming
I wrote about this story in July of 2020, exactly one month before teachers were forced back into the classroom. Covid was killing a thousand people a day, and Texas was a red-alert hotspot. The Governor and state officials were like those police officers—smiling, telling us everything was fine, sitting calmly in the room. But for those of us going back, the anxiety was thumping like a drum under the floorboards.
We’ve all been there.
Maybe for you, it isn’t a mandate from Austin. Maybe it’s a surprise bill you know you can’t pay. Maybe it’s a lump that shouldn’t be there, or a strained silence between you and your spouse that has lasted far too long. The world walks into your living room, sits down, and chats about the weather. They see a calm surface. But underneath, you are screaming because you can hear the beating of a threat that won’t go away.
The world cannot hear your internal noise. But God can.
The killer in the story was hiding a crime, but often we are just hiding our fear. We think we have to be strong. We think we have to keep smiling for the sake of the kids, or the spouse, or the job. But holding it in is what drives us crazy.
Silence the Drum
The only way to stop the noise is to be completely truthful with God. You don’t have to pretend the floorboards are silent with Him. You need to tear up the planks. You need to pour out your heart and show Him exactly what is scaring you to death.
“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” — Psalm 34:4 (NLT)
The police in Poe’s story couldn’t help the man. But the God who knows your heart can calm the noise—once you finally let it out.
