I've always been interested in how the meanings of words change over time. Gay started out meaning merry. Silly originally meant blessed. Rosary was a rose garden. Priest used to mean old man. Meat referred to all foods, not just animal flesh.
When there is a misunderstanding, I often wonder if persons are using the same word, but have a different definition in mind. For example, when I was in college, a casual gathering where a boy accompanied a girl was called a date. Today, it's not a date, it's "hanging out." A date today implies something more serious, perhaps even a relationship headed towards some permanency. When I "dated around" in college, it meant that I had lots of male friends and we liked to spend time together as friends. Today, a person who "dates around" is one who has loose morals and leads others to believe there is a relationship when there is not.
For some, Easter has come to mean chocolates, bunnies, egg hunts and family brunch. Therefore, some Christians are now saying "Happy Resurrection" because it is more specific and less like to change meanings in general use.
Traffic used to be what you saw on the highway. Human traffic would have been a busy walkway. Now, it is akin to slavery. We like to think slavery was abolished at the end of the Civil War. However, it simply changed names and went underground.
Let's not get confused by the meanings of words and how they change. Humans are still being bought and sold and used by other humans. Are you using other people for your own gain? Do you treat people less than what they are worth? Ask God to renew your mind and help you recognize the value in each and every human that he has created here on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment