Proclaimer Blog
Redefining words
Sir Terry Leahy and I have previous. I won't bore you with the details but we were both appearing in a court case where each's evidence contradicted the other and I got it in the neck from the judge who told me he was more inclined to believe Sir Terry. Still, despite the past, I was interested to read the reviews of his new book Management in Ten Words in the weekend press (a slight biblical tone in the title?). You can't deny he's been at the forefront of one of the UK's most successful businesses. For the record (hope this doesn't spoil it for you) the words are truth, loyalty, courage, values, act, balance, simple, lean, compete, trust. What interests me though is what he does with some of those words, according to one review.
For example, and here I'm quoting from the review. "Number one is truth. The truth is not something you usually associate with retailing, says Sir Terry, seeking to shock us with his candour. But what does he want us to do with this truth? He wants us to confront it. The skilled manager does not ignore the truth. He sees it and responds to it."
Well, fair enough. But do you see what he is doing? If I told you the management word was truth you would automatically assume he meant telling the truth, not facing up to it. It's subtle but the context of the word has changed. Less subtle is chapter 3. Courage means "being certain that you are right." Now, that's just a new definition, isn't it? I don't think that's what courage means. Most online dictionaries get this right – the ability to confront fear or danger or uncertainty, etc.
I shall leave poor Sir Terry alone. What interests me more is that we are always redefining words. It's one reason that the preacher needs to be both careful with his own words and careful with God's words. Bible words mean what they meant. We must not impose 21st Century meanings onto them. And we must be careful that our own words are not open to the worst kind of misinterpretation. It's also why we should be thankful for modern Bible translations and the men and women who tirelessly work to keep them under revision.