Useless Words

Words are important!
At least words used correctly are important.
When words are used flippantly or without thought they become meaningless.
In making words meaningless we strip speech of its beauty and words of their effectiveness. We make communication relative, and once communication is relative what is the point? Why even speak when the words that are used are completely subjective? We create ourselves into the people constructing the tower of Babel, where no one person is able to understand the other as we each carry around with us our own personal dictionary full of words defining words that are defined by us and have special meaning only to us.
Plus its just annoying!
There are two words in particular that have become completely useless in American pop culture: 1) "Feel" and 2) "Need." These two words have become overused to the point of being useless and I am not sure either really relates their intended meaning, as I will explain further...
But first, a tangent:
I am trying to anticipate arguments. The first I am trying to help as much as I can. I am sure there are those who are picking apart my own writing to show how ridiculous what I am saying is; they will try and find any misspelled or misused word and in doing so they think they have deconstructed my argument. In truth you've only discovered that I am slightly stupid or maybe dyslexic, you haven't really deconstructed the overall point that is made. You've proved the author is dumb, not the writing.
The other argument is in my choice of words to criticize. People may say that "like" should be involved in this list. That might be and there is an argument that can be made for it, but I would disagree. "Like" is not a useless word. It does not show our tendency to use words without regard to meaning and it does not try to communicate one thing while actually (if one is paying attention) communicate another. It is not useless. The problem with "like" is that it is entirely useful, and that is the terrible tragedy of it all. "Like" is used as a filler; it fills the silent beats between the necessary words. It is indicative of our fear of silence, rather than of our inability to properly communicate, or understand what it is that we are communicating. We should not fear silence in conversation, and we should not fear to take a second to respond. We would all do better to use "like" less often and let the silent beats exist. It gives us time to think about a response, about what is being communicated, about anything or everything. "Like" is a stupid word, but it is not useless.
Tangent completed, on to useless words:
1) "Feel": When asked what he felt was a Biblical view on capital punishment in the "Moody Student" (Moody Bible Institutes' student newspaper) a student replied: "I will always be an advocate for rehabilitation rather than capital punishment. I feel it is an Old Testament principle, but not a New Testament principle."* What in the name of Poseidon's trident does feeling have to do with any of that?! You feel pain, love, anger, joy! You don't feel whether or not capital punishment is a Biblical concept. I am not saying that feelings can't be objective realities I am saying that they are based on internal instinct and reaction. If I get a present, I feel joy, I cannot quantify that joy. I can manifest it with a smile, but I can't give proof of it. I can give proof that there is no such thing as an Old Testament concept that isn't also a New Testament concept(but that's a horse of a different color all together). Feelings are based on emotion and are, by consequence, fleeting. Those feelings are not lasting until partnered with a cognitive choice. Love is fleeting if not accompanied by the choice to show characteristics of love long after the feeling fades. Feelings are dangerous things. If we make decisions based on our feelings we are in a world of trouble. If we rely on how we feel to make a decision, rather than having reason and proof, then we are going to make poor decisions. I don't feel like working, but if I don't I will have no money. I don't feel like loving other Christians, but if I don't my witness is destroyed. We cannot base our lives on feelings. And if we are Christians trying to understand Biblical values through our feelings soon we are going to be very, very wrong. We're better off just reading the book and leaving our feelings out of interpreting Scripture.
If I can be blunt: It does not matter how you feel! Soon we will all die. When that happens this world will forget about most of us... probably all of us. It does not matter how you feel in the eternal perspective of things. All that matters is the truth. Lets not confuse our feelings with what is true. Be people who confess truth, not feelings.
And if you don't mean feeling in this sense than don't use the word! "Think" or "believe" are perfect words to use instead.**
2) "Need": Where to even begin with our shameful obsession with the concept of need?! I've spent enough time waiting tables at restaurants to hear my fair share of people say "yeah... I'm gonna need another soda." What a foolish thing to say! No one needs another soda! We live in the most wealthy country in the world. Even the poorest of us are the richest people in the world. We, as Christians are the most opulent Church this world has ever known. We don't need anything!!! To say the word need is an insult to those who actually experience need, those who go days without food, who wonder where they will sleep, and wonder how they will keep safe at night. To be honest with myself, I don't think I've ever needed anything. There was never an instance where a need of mine was not easily met. We need to be more grateful for the things that we have, and realize that they are blessings above and beyond what any of us need. We don't need soda with our meals, much less refills. We don't need beautiful cars or additions on our houses. We don't need seconds at dinner! But thanks be to God, who out of His abundance gives us all we need and more. I am concerned that this kind of language can make us ungrateful. We need to recognize our blessings and thank God for them. Not take them for granted. We need to start using the word want or desire more often, and stop mistaking our wants for needs.
Believe what you will about what I've said. But it is not a waste for me to emphasize:
Words are important!





*this quote is filled with all sorts of problems that can be dissected with whole blogs (forget that, even books!) dedicated to explaining how its wrong. But for our purposes I'm gonna focus on the word "feel".
** but even if that student thinks or believes that capital punishment is an Old Testament concept alone, and not a New Testament concept he is still wrong... just thought I'd throw that out there.