Words are important. Without them, we would not have any dictionaries. Nor any crossword puzzles. Nor t-shirts. Nor politicians’ flowery speeches. Nor insightful, challenging, encouraging, and enlightening pastors’ sermons . . . Nor blogs, for that matter.
While you may think that we could do fine without at least one of the previous, word-dependent items, (I shudder to think of which one . . .), the fact is that words are essential to both communication, and human thought itself. We need words to identify and categorize everything, whether in our environment, our feelings, or our imaginations. If we try to communicate without written or spoken words, such as with sign-language or drawings, our messages are framed from words and received in words of some kind. Even if we talk with people who speak a foreign language, words and mental translations are involved. Yes, words are important, even vital, to human life and interaction. Word!
All of this leads us into a consideration of some changes in our language over the past “Year of Covid” which came as a result of the pandemic and our response to it. In order to make sure we understand what is being said, and to enhance our communication, I offer the following short glossary of new words and/or definitions for 2021:
Covid 19: originally meant Corona Virus Disease from 2019. Now it refers to the number of years we’ll be shut down.
Face masks – what used to get you arrested if you wore them into a bank, but are now required to get in to that same bank. Karen’s alternative definition: face-warmers.
Flatten the curve: what I tried to do by tugging on a girdle.
Herd immunity: what prosecutors offer defendants if they testify about what they “heard” their mob bosses say.
Quarantine: what they used to do to sick people, but now do to healthy people.
Social distancing: dropping Facebook, Twitter, and all other social media. Former definition: anti-social behavior, standoffishness.
Stimulus checks: money the government gives us to stimulate our grandchildren to work 60-hour weeks to pay for it.
Uncertain times: 1. A meaningless term, since every time is uncertain. 2. Your watch/clock/phone batteries are dead.
Unprecedented times: times when both sides alternately say, “He’s not my president!” Also spelled, “unpresidented.”
Vaccine: Hopefully, a shot in the arm for the economy.
Well, as you can see, words and their definitions can get pretty messed up, especially in the hands of certain bloggers. New words are created, old words take on new meanings, and different words are used to mean the same thing. For example, in my lifetime there have been over 400 words used to express the idea of “good.” These include: cool, awesome, boss, sweet, righteous, bodacious, the bomb, epic, legit, far-out, choice, rocking, slamming, to-die-for, dope, fly, and bad – just to name a few of the more neat-o terms.
If we try to keep up with the latest words and meanings, we are sure to get confused, especially if we try to base our view of reality and truth on them. We need to find something whose meanings are true and unchanging, able to weather the storms of change. Is there such a thing?
Yes, there is. It is the Word of God.
The Holy Scriptures are God’s eternal Word to us, revealing himself, our broken nature, our purpose in life, and the way of salvation through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. It is true and unchanging, as it testifies about itself:
- “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
- “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33)
- “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
- “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
There are many wonderful things about God’s Word: the beauty of the writing, the relevance of its teachings to our daily – and eternal – lives, its utter dependability in all it teaches, the history of mankind and God’s dealings with us, and of course, God’s love revealed in the gift and sacrifice of his own Son for our sakes. And because it comes from the very mouth of God, when we read and hear it we are not alone, for the Holy Spirit comes to us in those words to convict, heal, to inspire us, and to move us to works of love. The Word itself is a means of grace, through which God calls us to him.
Our response to God’s love and grace, revealed in his Word, is to love his Word and cherish it in our hearts. Psalm 1:2 declares of the righteous person, “his delight is in the law of the Lord.”
When I speak of the unchanging nature of the Scriptures, I am not saying we must read it in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Just as there is a need to translate the Bible into other languages so that the Word may spread to all nations and be understood by the people of those nations, so also we need new English translations as our language changes. We can’t just say, “The King James Version was good enough for Moses, so it’s good enough for me.” Although it may be the most beautifully written of all English versions, there have been enough changes in our common language that readers may miss the important meanings that God intended for us to know. One of the most well-known changes, for example, is the word, “suffer.” In King James’ day (the early 1600s) it meant “to allow”; today it means “to endure, especially pain or anguish.” So in the King James Version, when Jesus tells his disciples to “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” he is not endorsing child abuse. He is telling them to “Let the kids come to me.” To avoid misunderstanding and keep up with language changes, the King James Version was revised multiple times by the 1700s, the first being just 18 years after the original translation.
This updating of translations is no way undermines the authority and unchanging nature of God’s Word as recorded in our Bible. It is our language, not God’s revelation, which has changed. Likewise, when we speak to people about our faith, and explain what God has done for us in Christ, we may need to use new words and phrases to properly express the truth. But the truth we express is unchanging.
To that, we say, “Amen!” Or as you might hear these days, “Word!”
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Word!
Read: Psalm 119, a hymn of praise for God’s Word.