Changing The Narrative Starts With Words

Words are powerful. They are heavy with meaning. Our media and our politicians know this and the words they use are telling and full of purpose. Words can influence us to think a certain way, possibly without knowing it. I bet you can think of some examples if you try.

I've become more aware of the words I say and think and how they affect me. Knowledge is the first step to changing. If you don't know something exists and is a problem, you can't change it.

Here's an easy example to start with - love. In the English language, love is a diluted word. It is used for everything from our favorite color to the most important people in our lives and our closest beliefs. We don't love them all the same but we use the same word.

I wrote a blog post a while back about the power of "I am". What we tell ourselves is a label and it can be internalized at the deepest level. I know. I've experienced. It might start out as a joke but it can reveal subconscious thoughts or become what you believe about yourself. Be careful what you tell people you are.

More recently, I was convicted to be cautious about what I say I'm "obsessed with". Obsessing about something means it's consuming me, my thoughts, my time, my life. Am I really obsessed with what I say I am obsessed with? If the answer is yes, is that a good thing? There is really only one thing that I should be truly obsessed with and that's God. Unfortunately, I am not obsessed with Him.

You might think, "does it really matter?". Well, maybe not. Maybe these examples are harmless and innocent. But they get you thinking about other examples. They get you thinking about the power and meaning of words. So here's another one: race.

There is one human race. No matter your worldview, we all believe that humans came from one beginning. If you hold to a Biblical worldview, you believe that we all came from Noah and his three sons after the Flood and that before that we come from Adam. If you hold to an evolutionary worldview, you believe that we have evolved from other organisms. Either way, that means all humans started out from one common beginning.

Think of animals. There are many kinds of horses, dogs, cats, birds, etc. They look different and live in different places and maybe do different things, but they are all still horses, dogs, cats, and birds. Humans can look different, be from different places, and have different abilities while still being human.

We all have hair.
We all have two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth.
We all have two arms, two legs, two hands, two feet, ten fingers, and ten toes.
We all have a brain.
We all have red blood in our veins.
We all breath oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.
We all have two lungs and one heart.

Do you see my point? Jesus gave His followers an illustration of the Church as a body. Many different parts but part of one unit. The different parts are needed. A body needs all the elements that make it up. They do different things but are all important. The Church is made up of different people with different gifts and we are all needed. I think the illustration can be widened to countries and communities. We need all kinds of people to make life work. We are different from each other but that is GOOD! It's necessary.

I'm not very good at math and science but I am good at things that someone else might not be great at. I'm not really the person to be in the spotlight but then there are people who aren't great at behind the scenes work. In a play, the lighting and sound crew are just as important as the actors. The actors can't make the play work without the crew behind the scenes.

Race is something we've invented. It doesn't matter to anyone other than scientists and sociologists. We are humans. We are people. Our differences make us into one body. And, most importantly, we are ALL made in the image of God.

If we want to change a narrative, let's start with the words we are using.