By 
“Word” is an interesting word. It looks like “cord” and “ford”, but it rhymes with “bird” and “third”. My mother loved words in all their many idiosyncrasies. She loved the way they felt in her mouth and how they sounded to her ear. She liked to read them in a well-turned phrase or in a line of poetry. My oh my, how she could read aloud! What a gift that was. How I treasure the memory of it in my mind as I recall the many times she read stories to us or recited a poem she had learned in childhood.
In today’s world, words are up for grabs by whoever is the most powerful player. They are redefined for political purposes and undermined for social engineering. And this concerns me, especially for the Christian community for whom God’s Word is the umbilical cord of life.
Today, the reimagined words of the postmodern perspective have literally turned the world on its head. Now, instead of having a defined meaning, an understood perspective, an oral history, and a prescribed use, words are skewed or defamed by those who have the power to capture them for their own purposes.
I remember reading a book about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary—all the careful research that went into its definitions. Every word was traced back to its originating language and earliest recorded use. Its meaning was construed with the greatest care because words are our most precious human tool. They are what connect us and separate us, unify and divide us, magnify and demean us. But above all, they must have meaning that we can rely on, rock solid definition that can enable communication and understanding.
In the past words have progressed and changed in meaning, but it has always been by a traceable evolution. In recent days however, word meanings have been reinvented out of whole cloth and with no regard to dictionaries. The point is to create a cultural revolution that replaces western civilization with a postmodern utopia. “Original sin” no longer refers to the condition of mankind generally, but to racism found in the hearts of anyone born with white skin. “Silence” means “violence”. Any action or deed that is perceived to be racist is called a “micro aggression”. Morality is whatever the power players say it is. This co-opting of words certainly represents a socio-political struggle. It also presents problems for the Christian Faith.
As Christians we see God’s Word as truth (John 17:17). We believe that Jesus came to “testify to the truth” (John 18:37, NIV). We believe that God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1), and that He revealed Himself to us in His Word. We believe that His son came to us as the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and that He left us His teaching in His Word. We spend hours studying His Word and a lifetime living by it. We are careful not to tamper with it or reinvent it. We study the oldest texts so that we might interpret them accurately and understand them rightly. We see God’s Word as “a lamp unto (our) feet and a light unto (our) path” (Psalm 119:105, KJV). We honor it, treasure it, and learn from it.
If postmodern thought prevails in relationship to “words”, the Christian will indeed find testifying to the truth difficult if not impossible. If the meaning of the words we use are like bubbles in the wind, unsubstantial and empty, we will be bereft of our greatest treasure—our “Book”. How will we teach truth to a generation who thinks a word can mean whatever you prefer it to? Where will we go for inspiration for or confirmation of or instruction in righteousness?
We must not forget that a word represents a thing, a collection of words a thought, and a collection of thoughts a teaching or a story. Let us remember and fight for the sanctity of words as we do the sanctity of life—for it is in The Word that we find truth for life!
Linda Williamson
Linda Williamson is a long time Womenary student and a recent board member. She has a passion for the Word of God, both to learn it and to teach others to love it. She has taught a Sunday School Class at Colonial Hills Baptist Church for twenty years, worked in the BSF school program five years and prior to moving to Tyler, enjoyed being a Precept Bible Study Leader. Womenary is her Seminary. She is grateful for the opportunity to take advantage of theology classes conveniently located and reasonably priced. It is her heart’s desire as a teacher to “accurately handle the word of truth…”. (1 Tim. 2:15) 
