Proclaimer Blog
Meaningless words
One of the things about preaching is that it involves words. You may have noticed. I guess that many of us who are preachers don't use full manuscripts; even those who do probably stray off piste. Which means that we need to train ourselves to be careful with words. You see words can very easily be meaningless. This was brought home to me by the latest Vodafone ad. They have followed the rather tired route of licensing the Star Wars characters (come on, Vodafone, everybody seems to have done that!). Here's one I pass cycling on my way to work.
It says, "We'll fix any mobile device (almost)." Almost? Not much of a Jedi master, this Yoda. The ad is trying to be clever, saying we can't fix light sabres. But not everyone makes that connection – it took me at least a dozen cycle pasts until I realised that Yoda was holding said light sabre instead of a Motorola Razr.
And the words are meaningless. Almost any device? What assurance is that? It's like the sales "up to 50% off" or "most items £2" – these are sales pitches that promise the earth and deliver nothing. Likewise, the preacher – especially the off piste preacher – needs to be careful with words. Words are beautiful, powerful, delicate things. The gospel is full of them, loaded with meaning. Don't let yours be robbed.