The war over words

As I read this psalm, I can’t help but think about the war over words that is going on in our culture.

For many in our culture, they say,

Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own–who can be our master? (Psalm 12:4)

And that is how they live. They transform culture through their tongues, all the while denying their rightful Lord.

We now live in a culture where “marriage” no longer necessarily means the joining of a man and woman before God.

We live in a culture where you can talk about there being a hundred different genders instead of two.

We live in a culture where a person can insist on being called “they” instead of “he” or “she.”

We live in a culture where abortion can be redefined as “reproductive health care.”

We live in a culture where “racism” no longer simply means having animus towards a person of another race. Now you need to possess “power” to be a racist, which means in America that a black person could never be racist.

And though you’ve always respected people of other races, you can still be called one if you refuse to capitulate to all the claims of woke culture.

Words are being redefined left and right to change the narrative in our culture.

In contrast, David says,

The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times. (6)

Unlike us, God doesn’t change. What he says, he holds to. And one day he will judge us all by those words. And all our attempts to change language will fall apart.

Or as the apostle Paul put it,

Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written:
That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge. (Romans 3:4)

Let us not accept the redefinition of terms promulgated by our culture. Let us rather hold to the pure words of our God.