WORD POWER Jesus amazed people in first century Israel simply by speaking the truth. He accurately used words that described his Father's reality and refused to cater to those who chose to distort these words. This communication of the truth transformed those around Jesus and they went on to transform the world. If you've noticed, though, our culture places little value in honesty of word or deed. TIME magazine recently featured an article on lying which headlined, "everyone's doing it!". The article accurately described the reason distortion of the truth is so popular. The truth can be painful! I have discovered that knowing Jesus means I must be willing to continually come to terms with my own dishonesty and that this process is generally not comfortable. Most of us don't have much of a problem with overt embellishment or outright falsification but we do engage in the practice of what I call "sheltering self deception." We convince ourselves of a lie to avoid the pain and discomfort of the truth. One tactic used to continue in deception is to redefine words. The other method employed is avoid asking tough questions. Words, used accurately, have a powerful ability to convey truth and will continually remind us of our self deception. So in order to stay self decieved we must redefine words. The sum of this redefinition process is confusion. Think of how inaccurate use of words like judgement, grace or healing have lead many of us down false roads; think also of how words in our newspapers such as "politically correct", "ethnic cleansing" and "safe sex" are being used without question every day. God, for our own sake, does not wish his reality to be distorted in our minds and so instructs us to speak rightly. Jesus spoke simply. He let entire arguments hinge on the correct meaning of a single word, "Before Abraham was, I am" and used words with an accuracy that caused those around Him to be amazed, "the MEEK will inherit the earth." People probably went straight for for their dictionaries after the sermon on the mount to find out what meek really meant. Language, to some extent, influences how we percieve the world. This is why governments employ propoganda to sell their decisions. And this is why it is crucial that we accept only language that is accurate. A dedication to accurate language will eventually pay dividends to us by revealing inconsistencies in our lives forcing us to deal with difficult questions that cause us to grow. I remember a church I visited a while ago. The group had a spokesman who lead worship and seemed to be the primary director and organizer. Later, speaking with a church member I mentioned their "leader" in the course of the conversation. He responded, "we have no leaders around here, we're all the same." I didn't ask for his doctrinal reasoning but I couldn't help thinking he'd be better off admitting that they did in fact have a leader. How many times do I do the same thing? I stare factual reality head on and, for the sake of avoiding the pain of conflict, call things exactly what they are not. Not confronting what we know to be false shelters us, which we may think to be good in the short term, but it also stops us from maturing. The quickest way to Christian maturity is to always deal in the truth. The interesting thing is that a relationship with Jesus gaurantees there is no question that is too risky to ask. Every honest attempt to dig deeper will reveal more of the God we know. The only real risk is the possibility we may be left in an undefined place without traditional boundaries for a period. Some churches understand this concept better than others and it is always to their benefit if they do. The Anglican church, for example, has produced some great leaders in spite of an orthodox tradition largely because they allow an atmosphere in which there is freedom to question. I realize that some pain from my past could have been avoided if I had honestly pursued the more difficult questions that God brought to my mind. Apparently the risk seemed too great so I did not ask those questions. Jesus presence, however, is marked by a spaciousness that enables the freedom to ask tough questions and to grow. I would like to bless those reading this article in Jesus name with the grace to do the truth, live the truth and speak the truth. Psalm 31:8 you have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.