The weight of our words

A friend and I were dialoguing earlier today about a book – a popular, but sort-of controversial book. It’s just a work of fiction, not a theological treatise or a carefully researched study. Just a guy telling a story. And, yet, woven throughout his story are these inferences/ideas about the nature of God. For the most part, he’s just speculating. I think he wants to try and capture a little bit of what it might be like to hang out with God. And, he’s trying to communicate his thoughts in a way that would be winsome and intriguing to the reader. You know, sort of shake us out of our assumptions and our complacency a bit and make us really ponder what that would be like.

For me, the jury is still out on what I think about the book. But, it did get me thinking about the power of our words. It’s so easy in this ”information age” to get our thoughts out there. Things that we might have kicked around in our journals, only to be read by a few intimate friends, are now out there on our blog posts. It seems like just about anyone can have a book or article published – about whatever crazy topic they want to explore. And, our home videos are now disseminated around the world on Youtube. It’s all just out there. Our ideas, our speculations, our thoughts, our questions.

As a result, the impact of our words can be far-reaching. And, when God is the topic we’re discussing in those books, posts, and videos – wow! I mean, seriously – wow! That is a huge responsibility. Do we consider the weight of what we’re saying when we try to describe God or throw His name around in a work of fiction or an edgy, new ministry philosophy or a political op-ed piece? I just wonder if we’re too quick to presume that we can explain Him or speak about what He would do. And, because it’s so easy to get it out there, there’s very little accountability for the things we say about Him. Hundreds of people can hear or read what we say before our idea is ever even evaluated. For example, I recently read a Facebook note by a Buddhist friend who was trying to explain WWJD and what he thought Jesus would do. He doesn’t even follow Christ but he wanted to explain what Jesus would do.

So, what’s my point? Here’s the bottom line. God explained Himself for us twice. Once through His written word over hundreds of years through several different human authors – we call it The Bible. And secondly, through the Living Word, Jesus Himself. I just want to be darn careful about anything I say or write to expound on what He already gave me through those two means. Whether it’s a work of fiction or my blog post or the Bible study I teach or a letter to the editor in my local paper. Words have weight and content; they affect the way people think. I hope I will always weigh them carefully – especially when I’m talking or writing about the Almighty God of the Heaven and Earth.