More than seven words

Simplicity. There’s a hunger for it these days…Apple is the prototypical example here, with all its clean, smooth, simple products and advertising. Google works too. White background. Bam. One word. And we’re done. Tiffany. Nike. Starbucks. This kind of branding genius is not what I’ll proceed to discuss here. Again, I want to clarify—this is not about simple versus busy/noisy/overloaded.

The object of frustration and hope I’m getting at is our use of language. Not only do we prefer seven words to 14, but we prefer the seven most basic, commonly understood, dumbed down words we can get our hands on. And that, I propose, is a problem.

Linguists have proven for centuries that we think because we have words, not the other way around. So, when words are virtually eliminated from our language, so is an element of thinking—and in turn, of understanding—in our lives.

This is evidenced in the music we listen to, in the movies we watch, on the billboards and magazines we read, and, (gulp) in our own conversations. How often do we actually come across a word we’re unfamiliar with? (Chirp, chirp…right?) Pretty sure the last time I heard a word in a song I didn’t know was in ’99. I was a freshman in high school and Shania Twain, bless her, was on the radio every five minutes singing, Man, I Feel Like a Woman! But there was that line—The best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun (fun, fun). Prerogative. Pre-rog-a-tive. I learned a new word…one that to this day I can’t say without smiling (at least on the inside) at the thought of that silly Shania song.

Why should we have to bring our language down to the lowest common denominator in order for it to be “meaningful”? Why did Dasani change the copy on their water bottle wrappers from something thought-provoking about “reverse osmosis” to now, the plain “purification system”? Why do we allow our language to become dwindled and shriveled?

While Dasani’s marketing copy may have digressed, the language compromise is a much more serious tragedy among the Church. Why are we afraid of the word fellowship? And spirit? And body of Christ? And justify? And sanctify? Do they remind us of the baffling and incomprehensible and fearful things like the Passover, Crucifixion, and Resurrection (to name only a few)—those mighty acts of God which we struggle to understand because our childlike creativity (along with our vocabulary) has been corrupted and diminished? How about their function in revealing more about the character of God himself?

Madeleine L’Engle makes a good point: In the literary world, Christianity has pretty well replaced sex as the present pet taboo, not only because Christianity is so often distorted by Christians as well as non-Christians, but because it is too wild and free for the timid.

It’s rare for people talk about the things of God today. Even the most churchy people on the block seem to struggle to communicate about “the most important part of their lives” on a day-to-day basis, with friends, at restaurants, off the cuff.

This must change! We (Christians) talk about wanting to reach the world with the gospel message. We cannot settle for limiting our conversations about Christ to nothing more than the same words we use to describe our favorite band or our relationship with our best friend. There is an immense need for more!

Our hearts were made to be enlarged by Christ, and all while all of creation, fallen as it is, cannot adequately define his supremacy, I’m convinced there’s plenty of room to raise the bar.

I long for our generation to embrace God’s Word…even the tough, unpopular words in God’s Word. But it will take willing hearts and minds and the power of the Holy Spirit to stop this train of ignorance that’s charging downhill full speed ahead.

Generic, pop-culture language is simply insufficient in and of itself to describe our God. “God rocks.” Yes, he does. But that just doesn’t cut it when a seeking soul asks you what you think about God. This is why I believe the deliberate diminution of vocabulary is wrong; it cripples understanding. And the understanding of the Holy is worth our very lives.

I’m challenging myself to use more colorful language...to not be afraid to passionately utilize and break down those biblical words. And maybe even add some spice every now and then with references to the original languages of the Old and New Testaments.

Again, simple is one thing…a positive element, indicating organized thought free of complication. Length is not necessarily the point. I’m not suggesting we walk around spouting off dissertations! (Yikes.) It’s a matter of content. I’m simply encouraging colorful, rich, artful, liberated, biblical, informed articulation of faith. God help us.