The Devil's Dictionary

Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

My father-in-law loved words. I don’t mean he liked to talk. I mean he was passionate about the meaning, the etymology, the usage, and the translation of words. He kept a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary (1,500 pages!) next to his chair and used it regularly. Not just as a reference, sometimes he even read it! I confess, when I first discovered his obsession, I thought it odd, eccentric, even weird. Over time, however, I have come to realize that he knew something I very much needed to know: the supreme importance of using words correctly! Yes, when it comes to the dictionary, heaven and hell are literally hanging in the balance.

We call the Bible the Word of God. It is a book that uses words to tell us the importance of

words. It boldly asserts, “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn. 1:1). John is saying that before

anything else existed, God was talking – to himself! He was using words. And this self-

expression within his three-personned being was the very essence of who he was – and is. His words were an expression of his identity. You just can’t separate God from his Word.

You might say that the Bible is God’s dictionary. It teaches us the true meaning of words. God used words to create the universe (see Ps. 33:6-9). And the fact that Jesus is the incarnate Word is literally pregnant with significance (Jn. 1:14).

Because we are created in God’s image, words define who we are as well. When we live our

lives according to God’s definition of words, we live in sync with the universe. You might say,

we become like Jesus. When we live our lives according to a faulty definition of words, we

become creatures God never intended us to be. Words enable us to think, to communicate, to be creative. Yes, when words are used correctly, life works as it was intended. And when words are used incorrectly, well… the word “trainwreck” comes to mind.

This helps us understand why Satan is so interested in the dictionary! His nefarious purposes are advanced when he slithers in and, while we aren’t paying attention, redefines words. When we begin to use his definitions, he wins. Yes, when we use good words in the wrong way, all hell breaks lose.

In Western culture today, it is obvious that Satan has been imminently successful in his campaign to redefine words. We might say he has published The Diabolical Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and it has become a best-seller. People everywhere are, unconsciously, using words that have been secretly redefined. The devil’s dictionary includes entries such as the following:

•  Adultery. Archaic. Once used by puritans, pietists, and religious zealots, the word today describes sexual freedom and self-expression. Synonym: an affair.

•  Bigot. Anyone with strong beliefs that are different from mine.

• Church. 1. A building for religious purposes. 2. A political lobbying group.

• Faith. Optimism. A positive mental attitude. Wishful thinking.

• Evangelical. Right-wing political zealot who desires a theocracy.

•  Gambling. Archaic. What religious people once considered immoral and illegal is now

  understood as a form of recreation. Synonym: gaming.

• Gender. A social construct used to categorize a person as a man, woman, or other

  identifier. Gender identity is fundamentally different from one’s biological sex.

• God. 1. A swear word. 2. A benevolent, impersonal cosmic force. 3. Fate. 4. One’s

  individual concept of what one can’t explain.

•  Gospel. A religious explanation for how I can be the best version of myself I can be.

•  Heaven. The happy place where everyone goes when they die (except Hitler, Stalin,

  Atilla the Hun, and their ilk). For Christians, a place where disembodied spirits sit on

  clouds and strum harps in an eternally long church service.

•  Holy. Sanctimonious, puritanical, pietistic. Synonyms: hypocritical, pharisaical.

•  Human. A highly evolved, gender-fluid, animal.

•  Liar. A word to define one’s enemy. Con-artist, charlatan. Synonyms: used-car salesman, politician, lawyer, preacher.

•  Love. The feeling one feels when one feels good feelings. It happens to us and cannot be controlled. Synonym: happiness.

•  Prayer. 1. The visualization of positive outcomes. 2. Self-talk. 3. A way to achieve inner

  harmony and peace.

• Salvation. Going to heaven when you die.

•  Sin. Archaic. Political incorrectness. Synonyms: inappropriate behavior, growth area, an

  issue (e.g. My habit of sexually harassing women is an issue I need to work on.).

• Truth. Personal preference. An opinion. The word should never be capitalized.

Jesus told us that Satan “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). Yes, beware of using the devil’s dictionary!

In the twentieth century, no one was more vigilant in using words according to their true

definition than Alexander Solzhenitsyn. His opposition to soviet ideology was not so much

political as it was an unmasking of the lies that propped up the totalitarian system of oppression they promoted. His final message to the Russian people just before his forced expulsion to the West was titled “Live Not by Lies!” He loved to quote the old Russian proverb: “One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

Dear friend, nothing is more important than defining words correctly. Today, I want to encourage you to be vigilant concerning the dictionary you use when it comes to the words that you speak, the words that you hear, and the words that you read. Jesus put it this way:

“By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:37).

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