Word Meanings

I teach classes in churches and disciple people (men) in the ways of the Lord. I'm also a student of the Bible myself. In all these respects, I find myself continually dissecting a sentence in the Bible to discern its real meaning. I find myself wrestling with a piece of Scripture to discern all of its possible applications. Taking something out of context, for example, seems to make a big difference in what's being said.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, ..." (Matthew 5:10). This is a good example of what I'm referring to. What exactly does "blessed" mean? Some translations use the word "happy" instead of "blessed." Are they really interchangeable? Do they have the same meaning - in the same context? And what does it mean to be persecuted? Does it mean the same thing in all cultures at all times? Moreover, what is righteousness - especially that it would cause persecution?

I believe one of the greatest travesties in Christianity today would be the Christians who read Scripture passages like that and then just accept it at face value. It's as if we know what Jesus was communicating; like we get the full force of His intent. So we read the Bible verse and then go, "Oh, okay." But the truth is we remain ignorant of what Jesus said. It has no practical application for us ... and so it has no particular meaning for us.

Okay, I just let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. I'm one who holds fast to the tenet that for anything to have real meaning it also has to have practical application. Otherwise its just an abstract notion that may be nice to think or say. I might call that a platitude --- something that has words but doesn't seem to say anything.

The point is that if we don't wrestle with Scripture and dissect the sentences and tear apart the meaning of the words, we may never really know what's being said! I met a man once who had read the whole Bible and memorized much of it. He had an impressive command of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, he didn't really know what God was saying in the Bible. He hadn't been transformed by anything he'd read. In fact, he'd read the Bible and not actually met God there. He'd memorized the Bible and not met Jesus. He remained a Hindu. This is what can happen if you read something without having understanding of what it says.

Words seem to change everything. And they are changed by everything. In fact, our language seems to be held hostage by our culture. So the meaning of words changes as culture shifts. Consider, for example, when you tell me something and I respond by saying, "Wow, that's really cold!" I would be expressing an opinion that what you've just told me is sobering, perhaps mean and unloving. But what if I responded instead by saying, "Wow, that's really cool!" Of course then I would be expressing approval, applauding what you've just told me.

These kinds of patterns are repeated throughout our language. Even among the English speaking countries, the same word can have different meanings. And I haven't even gotten into slang, the invention of new words, etc.

When we read the Bible, we really need to consider what it's saying. We need to understand that the English language is the most complex language known to mankind. We need to realize that this could obscure the meaning of Scripture for us --- if we simply try to take Scripture at face value.

God allows the different translations of the Bible to enhance our understanding. (He wants us to hear Him better.) But we have a responsibility to listen. Are you listening responsibly?

Asian Names

You know, the Bible says that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. It means that we are to love everyone else in the world as we would want them to love us - if we were in their situation. Theologically, even the most casual Christian doesn't seem to have difficulty agreeing with this. In fact, we hear people talking about how they love everyone and look for the best in everyone. (In some cases, I suppose that could be true, but I doubt it.)

The fact of the matter is that many people are hard to love. They tend to be people who don't look like us. In other words, we are often the most challenged to love someone when they seem foreign to us. And let's face it, the world is full of people who seem foreign to us. America's big cities are full of people who live right next door to each other without ever knowing each other. Why do we do that? Do we think it's appropriate behavior for Christ-followers?

This week, our own Texas state representative, Betty Brown, an elected official really stepped in it. Did you see the story? Did you see her follow-up apology? Yes, she stuck her foot in her mouth. She was attending the hearing on voter registration for immigrants. She stated that people of "oriental" descent should consider changing their names to something that Americans could pronounce! Of course, this had nothing to do with making sure each voter is legitimate. But it spoke volumes about the condition of Betty's heart.

Now the problem is, even I could understand where Ms. Brown was coming from. I have people that I work with and I cannot pronounce their names. It is annoying and frustrating. Often they are people whom I respect and admire professionally. But I struggle to correctly pronounce their name. So though I saw the newspapers labeling Ms. Brown as a racist, and I agreed that what she said was incredibly stupid --- I secretly understood where she was coming from.

The problem is that the Tower of Babel was built as a monument to mankind. God was angered by it, destroyed and gave us hundreds of different languages as punishment. No really, that's how it happened! Apparently everyone in the world spoke the same language at the time. But God was angered by the pride of mankind, and wanted to humble us. So He made us speak different languages ... hundreds of them!

Has it worked? Has mankind found the different languages to be a humbling experience? Despite the fact that we teach languages and sell software and hire interpreters and translators --- we have to admit the fact that it is an annoying challenge. We really would like it much better if the whole world spoke one language. And usually we want that language to be ours!

I'm as human as the next guy. I find it frustrating and humbling that I cannot speak the different languages that I encounter. And it seems that I encounter many more of them today than I ever used to. So I really have two challenges. First, I have to humbly submit to the language rules God has given us Himself. There will never be one language. I need to respect that and walk through the humbling experiences it causes obediently. Second, I have to love my neighbor as myself - even when I can't understand him or pronounce his name.

Representative Brown has already apologized for her amazingly selfish and ignorant remark. But we shouldn't dismiss what she said or why she said it. Even the maturest of Christians find foreign languages to be a challenge. The the truth is that God placed this challenge on us Himself. The question is what we, as His obedient followers, will choose to do with that challenge!