Words and Meanings

Happy Birthday, C. S. Lewis!!

Today, (November 29, 2007) one of my favorite authors would have been 109! In celebration of his birthday, I googled some C.S. Lewis quotes. Here's one of my favorites:

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."

I love this quote because it applies directly to me :) I am forever using humongous, gargantuan words in place of teeny tiny normal (and rather dull, I must admit) ones, because I, being the crazy homeschooler that I am, loooove vocabulary :) However, Mr. Lewis is entirely right. But really, this whole phenomenon of stripping words of their true value is something that really bothers me. When we use strong words in situations when we don't really need them, their meaning becomes less and less intense. And slowly, throughout time, we begin to get desensitized to the true meaning of some amazing words.

Take love, for example. We have so over used love that it has lost so much of its meaning. "I LOVE chocolate!" or "Have you watched American Idol this week?! I love that show!" are exclamations we hear all that time. But what does "love" mean? Well, that could be a rather long, off-topic post, so let's check dictionary.com:

Love (v): to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for someone

So, as much as you might enjoy, savor or appreciate chocolate, or your favorite TV show, chances are, you probably don't feel "profoundly tender, passionate affection" for either of these things. (If you do, well, then you really need to get out more!!)

Love is a powerful thing. Love is what, more then anything else, characterizes our relationship with God. Through love for us, He sent His Son. Through love for us, Jesus took our place and died. Through love, we are forgiven -- over and over again. Through love, we have a place in heaven -- a place we do not and can not ever deserve. We cannot afford to lose the meaning of love, because it defines so much of what we believe in. Never forget John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we may not perish, but have eternal life.

That's a pretty powerful love, if you ask me!! Something far more powerful then that which could descibe chocolate or TV :)

Now, please know that I'm not saying you should strike the word love from your vocabularly in order to preserve its meaning. All I ask is that you really consider what love means. We can see love whenever we look at God; we can learn about love whenever we read the Bible; we can experience love through our relationships with Him. Bear all this in mind -- because this is the true meaning of love.

With that being said, just remember to think about the meaning of the words you're using.

So, once again, Happy Birthday C. S. Lewis!

And, just a thought: even if you've all read "The Chronicles of Narnia", I highly recommend you read the series...or at least, the first two books...again. They just get better every time! Also, The Screwtape Letters is one of my all time favorite books -- a must-read!