The Importance of WORDS

"Words don't have a definite meaning."

This is the most immoral statement...the height of hypocrisy, because it is completely self-contained.

I can't tell you the number of people who have made this STATEMENT to me...who have asserted it to be TRUTH. Most recently, Greg Boyd went down this road when he wrote me to say words have more than one meaning.

That is actually a LESS hypocritical statement because it admits that words have at least one definite meaning. Words CAN have more than one meaning. However, when a word is used, it has a definite meaning in context. The people who are in real danger are those who say we CAN'T define words...even in usage!

If this is a fact, then why do they use words to convey their message. In order for them to be right, their method needs to be wrong. They shouldn't be using words to explain their point...they should use EVERYTHING OTHER than words, even if it is interpretative dancing or pantomime. The REAL danger is these people are very quick to hold OTHERS to their words!

If you truly believe that words can't be defined, then you should stop using words to prove your point AND stop holding others to their words...otherwise you are condemning YOURSELF as a hypocrite.

How does THAT work? "You CAN'T define the words that I speak, BUT I can hold YOU to a definite definition for the words YOU speak!"?!?!?!?

More troubling is when these people quote a series of Bible verses at you...without taking the time to define each and every word. After all, if a word can mean A LOT of different things, why are they quoting verses as if each word has a definite self-evident meaning?

If you use words and DON'T define them, then you CAN'T get upset at how you are interpreted...unless you want to be a hypocrite. When a person speaks, they have a meaning for their words in their head...the frustration is that their definition ONLY makes sense in their head. It completely falls apart when it has to be explained.

Our ability to think is based on words. The book "1984" tried to make the point that you can limit peoples' ability to think by limiting the words they use. I'm trying to help people do the opposite. I tell them to use any word they want as long as THEY define it. When people can't define their words they are proving they ARE NOT thinking! They are appearing to think, but they REALLY aren't thinking.

The PROOF of this problem is when you ask people to WRITE their explanation. Yesterday I turned 45...so I'm kinda old. I was a letter writer during my college years. Whenever I would tell people THAT, a great majority would say that letter writing is VERY limiting..."some things need to be spoken". Today, people say this about e-mail.

ACTUALLY, what I found is "some things make absolutely NO SENSE when they are written AND I can convince you of NONSENSICAL stuff if I speak it to you." This is because writing it out REQUIRES a non-contradictory explanation.

George Orwell tried to warn us that the words we use and their meaning can limit our ability to think. Being unable to write out an explanation is proof the idea doesn't make sense.

As much as I'd like to claim inventorship over the concept of non-contradiction, this concept is one of the first effects of the causeless principle of RIGHT.

IF SOMETHING IS NON-CONTRADICTORY THEN IT CAN BE RIGHT.

IF SOMETHING IS CONTRADICTORY THEN IT IS DEFINITELY WRONG.

Non-contradiction is a God-given principle to help us personally determine the difference between right and wrong. This means that non-contradiction is the principle that determines the definition of a word. If the definition is contradictory, it is wrong. We KNOW THIS!!!! THAT is why we get so frustrated when we have to explain ourselves and/or write our beliefs...because if they are contradictory it means they are NONSENSE!!!!! The PROOF is that ALL of us INSTANTLY declare others WRONG when we find a contradiction in their explanation!

It took me twelve years to write MODELING GOD. Why did it take so long? Because I was WRITING out the non-contradictory worldview...it had to be right or people would instantly find the flaws. I actively asked people to tear it apart because my goal was to explain the non-contradictory worldview...NOT convince people I already knew the non-contradictory worldview. It turns out I didn't know it and all the help others gave me over 12 years CAUSED US to arrive at the non-contradictory explanation.

RIGHT is RIGHT regardless of what I believe.
JUST is JUST regardless of what I believe.

The WORST thing is to believe you are RIGHT and JUST AND NOT actually be RIGHT and JUST...God will get on you to show you are off in an effort to limit the DAMAGE you are doing.

Try to write out your personal beliefs...

In fact, this is called a "worldview". Colson, Dobson, Pearsey, etc. speak and write about worldviews...what do they think a worldview is? More to the point, have ANY of them DOCUMENTED their worldview? The thing that is AMAZING to me is our "Christian" leaders speak of worldviews, yet they never formally present one. What does a worldview look like?

A worldview would consist of statements of belief AND definitions. A worldview would consist of WORDS!!!!!

THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A WORLDVIEW ARE WORDS!!!!!!!

If the definitions and/or statements of belief are contradictory, then the worldview is WRONG. Is the claim that WORDS aren't able to be defined actually an EXCUSE? Think about it...these people are saying our building blocks are flawed. Why? Because they can't come up with non-contradictory definitions and statements of belief.

WOW!!! THAT is REALLY EGOTISTICAL! Because THEY can't resolve the contradictions, NO ONE can resolve these contradictions? THAT is the HEIGHT of arrogance!

How can we do ANYTHING God commands if we don't know what He means? I've had people tell me that "love" can't be defined. I even had a pastor from Tennessee state this to me on a discussion forum when he realized HE couldn't define "love". Jesus gave us ONLY two commandments...both of them BEGIN with the word LOVE! Did Jesus intentionally give us two commands that we couldn't possibly understand?

You would think people would WANT the non-contradictory worldview...but 90+% DON'T. I wrote Greg Boyd and others. I offered to explain it to them. Do you think their response was to go over this? NO ONE has wanted to go over this. Not national "Christian" leaders...not local "Christian" leaders. The goal is NOT GROWTH, it is maintaining their personal belief...even when they know it is wrong.

National leaders have built a brand based on APPEARING to not be wrong. Local leaders have built a business based on APPEARING not to be wrong.

I TRULY appreciate feedback...especially when people attempt to prove me wrong. This week, we will see the Godly way to handle disagreements and arguments. For now, my goal is to become MORE right...and that REQUIRES that I find out where I am wrong and change it. I've tried to find out where I'm wrong...and I realize there are people out there who are excellent enough to show me where I am wrong. However, the number of people who actively avoid reading MODELING GOD while claiming I am wrong without explanation is frightening. (Actually, THAT behavior is very cultish.)

These people don't realize they are bringing judgment on themselves with their own WORDS. We already did a week-long post on evil. The best way to avoid being evil is to be contrastive, to try to prove yourself wrong.

Remember, evil can look like good. People can tell others ONLY those facts that make them look good and "prove" their point. When others agree with them, they can FEEL like they are RIGHT. However, RIGHT is RIGHT regardless of whether a person is able to convince themselves and others with abstract words. This next week, we will see how DAMAGING this mentality is and how to deal with it.

In the meantime, here are a list of scriptures that reinforce the IMPORTANCE of WORDS. As you look over these scriptures, ask yourself:
-Did God intend words to be poor building blocks?
-If we have contradictory definitions is it OUR fault or GOD'S fault?

God created by speaking WORDS:
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)

Words are necessary to overcome ULTIMATE evil:
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death." (Revelation 12:11)

Jesus is the WORD! The WORD is GOD!
"In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

Jesus said GOD'S WORD is TRUTH
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17)

Jesus said the HOLY SPIRIT would get involved when we needed WORDS. The Holy Spirit would TEACH us...give us the explanation.
"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." (Luke 12:11-12)

WORDS are LIFE
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)

UNPROFITABLE WORDS will be JUDGED! EVERY idle word!!!
"But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)

WOW!!! WORDS determine our justification AND our condemnation!!!! Why would God base OUR ETERNITY on flawed building blocks??????? Don't people understand our ability to deal with the enemy is DEPENDENT on our ability to handle words?

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (II Corinthians 10:3-6)

Imaginations, knowledge, and thoughts are all made up of WORDS! It amazes me when people talk about doing "spiritual warfare", YET they are contradictory with their words OR try to convince me that words can't be defined. If you are unprofitable in your dealings with your thoughts, the FIRST thing you OUGHT to consider is your defintions! Jesus spoke VERY specific words in a very specific way when He did spiritual warfare. WORDS are the key...

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:8-10)

The WORDS that are spoken are the EFFECTS of what is in the heart!
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee." (Proverbs 4:23-24)

Be VERY careful with your WORDS! They defile the whole body and point you towards hell!
"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." (James 3:5-6)

God's mouth is the place of creation. We want to be there...
"I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16)

If God is displeased with ANYTHING, the first THING is lukewarmness.
Be COLD...don't say anything.
OR be HOT...write it out or explain what you are saying...OWN IT.

Using WORDS to say WORDS can't be defined is LUKEWARM!

Actually, EVERYTHING ELSE is lukewarm and God will make sure you are as far from the site of creation as possible...

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