“Words have meaning.”
That was the opening phrase of my professor in Bible college every day he would walk in, straighten his stool, and take a seat for class. Sounds so elementary, doesn’t it? Of course, words have meaning. But do we always realize what this statement fully entails? If our modern society (and my professor’s incessant reminder) is any indication, the answer to that would have to be “no.”
In the battles of our world today, it seems everyone is using the same terms and fighting for the same things at least in word. So why are we still fighting? Why is there a seemingly ceaseless confrontation with posters on both sides using similar though sometimes rearranged phrases? Because the battles of our world center around redefined causes. Simply put, the words of others are being defined differently than the same words you or I use.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, we get our first example of this. One side says they are pro-choice because no one should tell someone what they should do with their body (i.e., women). The other side says they are pro-life because they also believe no one should tell someone else what they should do with one’s body (i.e., baby). Same terms, same phrases, but different meanings and application.
Before we believe this is an isolated event, I give you another example. One side says they are for Black Lives Matter because they desire equal rights for all people of every race. The other side says they are against the Black Lives Matter movement because they desire equal rights for all people of every race. Same goal, different tactic yet still using similar words.
Let’s keep sifting through our recent headlines to find one more example. Love from one perspective is like a professional baseball player was quoted a few months ago when asked about Gay Pride Month: “Love everyone as they are, go live your life, whatever your preferences are, go be you." Therefore, “love,” with this definition, seems to be a willingness to accept people’s actions despite its kind, consequences, or destructive nature as long as it brings that person happiness.
Ironically enough, a fellow player on that same MLB team responded with a different definition of love when he said:
“It's just a lifestyle that maybe…we don't want to encourage…if we believe in Jesus, who's encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior. It's not judgmental. It's not looking down. It's just what we believe the lifestyle he's encouraged us to live, for our good, not to withhold. But again, we love these men and women, we care about them…."
One side says they are for same-sex relationships because they love those who are involved in such a lifestyle. The other side says they are against same-sex relationships in-part because they love those who are involved in such a lifestyle. As you can see, love, and its defining, is one of the most conflicting words in our culture today.
“Love” as the Bible defines it is a willingness to be honest with others when they are not “abhorring” evil and “clinging” to what is good (cf. Romans 12:9). It’s the exact kind of love Proverbs 27:6 describes when it says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” And it’s the exact kind of love that Jesus showed the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10:21-22, when the Bible says:
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’ But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Jesus wasn’t redefining anything here, He was simply restoring love to its original meaning. This type of love is characterized by a willingness to sacrifice personal comfort and acceptance for the potential eternal good of someone else. But, once again, this is not how everyone defines the word.
In response to an article announcing the return of a Chick-Fil-A restaurant within the Cincinnati Airport, notice these real-time responses on social media alluding to the company’s CEO and his support for traditional marriage (i.e., definition of love):
- “Life is too short to eat soggy, undercooked and flavorless hate chicken.”
- “Popeyes is better and they don’t hate anyone.”
- “Your flight with a side of hate!”
In a generation where reading is seen by many as archaic and boring, who would have ever thought that words would be so important and the cause for so much confrontation? It can no longer simply be said that “Words have meaning.” They do, but the greater question is, “Whose meaning?” Many of our battles today are not simply a differing of opinions but a battle over the dictionary.
The words both sides are using are contained within them. The real difference is who we’re allowing to write the definitions: ever-changing society whose hearts are dictated by feelings or a never changing Someone who claims to have created the hearts themselves (cf. Genesis 1)?
Your answer not only aligns you many times with a side of the battles, but also who you’re allowing to lead you into their strategies and outcomes.
May we choose wisely.
For only one side, no matter how you define it, can ultimately be right.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
[Isaiah 5:20]
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/sport/tampa-bay-lgbtq-pride-mlb-spt-intl/index.html
[2] https://local12.com/news/local/cvg-chickfila-reopen-cincinnati-northern-kentucky-international-airport-concourse-b-food-court-hms-host-chicken-sandwich-chain?fbclid=IwAR3Q27UDFJGLbhGqN2mujMOpV-RRz8ANJMZm6obrZg2GRUVXUYvoura0BAo
[3] Local 12, WKRC-TV, “CVG’s Chick-Fil-A to Reopen…”, 18 July 2022 at 4:31 PM, comments on Facebook.
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