Food for Thought...#3

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. - C.S. Lewis

I ran across this quote from C.S. Lewis the other day. It got me to thinking about how we use language to convey meaning. I fall into the "trap" he describes almost every day. In one moment I might say that I "love" God, but if you're talking to me a couple of hours later, I might be talking about how I "love" sweet tea from Chick-fil-a. Now, you and I both know that the "love" I'm talking about is very different. You would hope (for my sake) that my "love" for God is quite a bit larger and more intense than my love for sweet tea (although the sweet tea at the Chick is AWESOME!).

So, here's the question for thought. How do I use language? Do I use certain words to convey meaning, and then cheapen that meaning by my later usage of that same word (i.e. example above)? If you have very young children (2-4) who are just learning language are they really learning the grand meaning behind words like "love," "infinite," "awesome," and "amazing."

Reality is that children are always learning from us, and at some point, we ought to consider Lewis' warning about how we use language...especially in regards to how it affects our children's understanding of these great, biblical concepts. I'm not saying that you can't talk about how much you "love" something like sweet tea (otherwise I would be as guilty as anybody), but it might be helpful to take inventory and maybe make some small changes in the language/particular words you use...because it will influence your children (because everything you do models something). Just food for thought.

-Robert