Words Matter

Charity – today most often means “a handout” – before, love

Gay – today means “homosexual” – before, joyful

Grace – today means “freedom” – before, a gift

Amazing – today means “special” – before, a huge – WOW

God – today seen as “love” – before, fearsome

Truth – today being “my beliefs” – before, universal beliefs

Perfect – today “what is agreed to” – before, without flaw

Hero – today “doing one’s duty” – before, risking one’s life

Government – today seen as a “god or father” – before, a servant

Love – today is “permission” – before, sacrifice

Marriage – today is “any combo” – before, bonding of two opposite genders

Bully – today “someone who challenges” – before, one who hurt others for fun and show

Racist – today “to disagree with another color” – before, to hate another color

Abstinence – today means “limited” – before, none

Awesome – today means “very good” – before, almost unbelievable
(Since everything today is awesome – soon nothing is!)

Church – today “a means to earn heaven” – before, a place to hear God

Vows – today means “until otherwise” – before, an unconditional commitment
(“I vow to love you until I don’t!”)

Boneless chicken wings – today is “breast meat” – before, chicken wings

Buffalo wings – today “a food” – before, a joke (as buffalo don’t have wings)

Terrorist – today “one on the other side” – before, using unlawful violence or intimidation

Words matter!  And the definition of each word matters!   Consider these words in English translated from the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures given by God to men (Psalm 19:12-14):

Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

What do the words “error” or “faults” or “presumptuous” mean?  What do I need to do in order to be “blameless” or “innocent” (are those good things)?  What was the intent of the author?  What do I need to understand and do?  Such is the mission of preaching God’s Word!

It is one thing to be able to read the words – to know phonics and grammar; it is another thing to understand what the writer of the words meant so to understand what was being said to the reader.

If I got this note: “ Bx sirigt ssitaxe yweok dejnew.”  What would I do?  I can’t read it!

Say I could read it: “At noon join others in singing.”  What does it mean?

What the author was saying was: “Come, to get a million dollars.”

But my understanding of the word “noon” and the author’s definition aren’t the same nor do we have the same understandings for the word “others” or “singing”.

If there are not common definitions of the words, communication fails.

And such is happening in our country.  Words said don’t mean the same to all hearing.  And as with the tower of Babel, such is happening with us: “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city, Genesis 11:7-8.   They ceased building the city – the country!