Use Your (Biblical) Words

The way we speak says something about our hearts.

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In his book, Language Lost and Found Niklas Forsberg notes, “Words are worn and torn, and so turned (differently). At times they are torn and worn out. But since words are turned—changed but not necessarily exchanged since words may look the same while their concepts change—it is oftentimes hard to come to see that one may fail to be in command of one’s own language.” His point is that the words we say are like doors to conceptual rooms in which the walls keep getting repainted and the furniture is constantly being rearranged. The underlying concepts no longer match the words we once used to signify them.

For example, when Christians say “Jesus,” we don’t mean exactly the same thing Mormons or Jehovah’s witnesses mean when they say “Jesus.” When we say the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, Christians are making a theological statement behind which lies an understanding of the Kingdom of God, Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand, and the God-ordained nature of all government. It would seem that “under God” has, in many ways, been drained of its Christian theological background and is more of a reference to generic morality for some and naïve sentimentalism for others. The point is that words don’t always carry the concepts we think they do.

Words don’t always carry the concepts we think they do.

Perhaps worse, there is also a way for us to use words that don’t convey reality. In other words, we don’t proclaim truth by what we say. Think, for instance, how odd it would feel for Paul to say that he was hoping to be “lucky enough” to make it to Rome. The word “lucky” is, sadly, a part of my vocabulary. It is my lazy way of speaking about good things that happen to me that involved events I couldn’t control. In using the phrase “lucky,” I’m missing the opportunity to make a more robust theological statement about God’s ongoing presence in my life and his providence over all things. I’m not using biblical words, nor am I using my words biblically.

The way we speak says something about our hearts.

One of the benefits of social media is that we have the opportunity to think before we post. Even while writing this short article, I’m thinking more carefully about the words I use than I might if I were just speaking off the cuff. As we post on social media, we can begin to focus on our tendencies to use words that don’t convey God to the world. Our speech reflects our beliefs about the world. As Jesus teaches us, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The way we speak says something about our hearts. Our use of language, whether spoken or written, needs to glorify God and point to the reality of his presence.

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on CRAZY DIFFERENT

Featured Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

 

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

For more than a decade, James served in academic leadership within biblical higher education. He currently serves as President of the D. L. Moody Center, an independent non-profit organization in Northfield, MA, dedicated to honoring the spiritual legacy of D.L. Moody. James serves on faculty at Right On Mission and as a consultant for Christian colleges and seminaries in the areas of leadership development, online programming, and enrollment management. He also teaches as an adjunct instructor at the collegiate and graduate level in the areas of biblical studies, interpretation, and Christian thought. James graduated with his B.S in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000 before earning his Master of Divinity from Moody Theological Seminary (2004), his M. A. in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College Graduate School (2005), and his PhD in Theological Studies-Old Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (2012). He later attended the Harvard Institute of Education Management and completed a year of executive coaching. James researches and writes in the areas of theology and Old Testament Studies. Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody was published in 2021. He also published Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind in 2020 and co-authored Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology in 2018. James also co-authored "Isaiah" with Michael Rydelnik in the Moody Bible Commentary and contributed to Marriage: It's Foundation, Theology, and Mission in a Changing World, and The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy.In addition to writing on theology and Old Testament studies, James has also published and presented in the areas of online curriculum design, higher education policy, organizational strategies for higher education recruitment, and Christian leadership. James and his family live in the Chicagoland area. He is available to speak in the areas of Christian leadership, Christian theology and contemporary issues, Christian identity in the digital age, biblical higher education and college choice, and Old Testament theology. .