The Truth on Which We Stand
I have always been fascinated by the evolution of language. I remember studying in seminary the linguistics of the early Semitic languages of the Middle East that eventually brought us our Bible, and was amazed at the development of language over time. And even after God confused the people's languages at the Tower of Babel, communication has continued to change over the centuries along with the words we use to communicate.
In a process known as "semantic shift," the meaning of the words we use change over time, from one language to another, and even within the same language. There are plenty of examples of strange transitions in word usage, shaped by everything from misunderstanding to slang. It is almost "inconceivable." ("I don't think that means what you think it means.")
Did you know that the word "naughty" originally was used to describe someone who was poor, and therefore had "naught" to his name? Or that the word "nice," came from a Latin word that meant ignorant, and was first used to describe someone who was foolish or silly or simple? Within the last twenty years, we have seen a crazy transformation of the words "bad" and "sick"--and more recently "dope"--which now are all used as compliments. Perhaps the most overused and misused term in the English language today is the word "literally" which is now used for emphasis and sometimes means just the opposite, as in "figuratively." (I mean, I've heard that word misused literally a million times in the last week!)
In times past, the words "awful" and "awesome" were synonymous, and both came from the Old English word "awe,' which meant dread, terror or fear. Likewise, the word "terrible"--derived from the same word "terror," was often used to describe God in the Bible. The meaning was consistent with the idea that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But today, if you were to sing, "Our God is an awful God" (instead of "awesome") people would call you a heretic. Or if you were to suggest that "...the Lord most high is terrible" (Psalm 47:2), or "Come and see the works of God: He is terrible in His doing toward the children of men," (Psalm 66:5), you'd probably get run right out of your Life Group.
You may have seen that a few weeks back Merriam-Webster announced that they were adding 455 new words and definitions to their dictionary for 2021. As their website stated, "Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding." And so, many new terms and new uses for existing terms were added to this year's version of the dictionary.
From the world of politics, "whataboutism" was added, while food and cooking gave us the ever popular "air fryer." The era of the coronavirus brought us new terms like "super-spreader," and "vaccine passport," and the social media culture gave us the abbreviations "TBH" ("to be honest") and "FTW" ("for the win"). There were a number of words added in the categories of technology and science, none of which I had ever heard. But there were many in the world of pop culture I did recognize, one ("dadbod") that hit a little too close to home.
But here's the deal. Though language is forever changing, there's one form of communication that is as steady as a rock. I was reminded of that a few weeks ago as I was preparing my Sunday sermon from the second half of the first chapter of 1 Peter. The apostle Peter is writing about the security we have in our salvation, and he says: "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:23-25)
We are born again into a relationship with God, through the living and enduring word of God....which endures forever. That is the truth on which we stand. The words of man will continue to change, with fads and shifts in culture and language, like grass that withers or flowers that fall. But you can always count on God's word.
I hope you can join us this Sunday as we open His word together. May the Lord richly bless you.
--Pastor Ken
