WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Super Normal Unextraordinary Words, But the Ones We Need

      Words change over time. I've noticed that. A long time ago "cool" meant that something was not warm but rather slightly chilled. "Chill" doesn't mean the same thing anymore either. "Cool" took on a new meaning in the 60s and continues to mean that something is "good, desirable, or acceptable". Cool. Chill now means that someone or something is relaxed and devoid of much motion or emotion, as in- "I think it's cool that you're all chill and taking it easy today". Or better yet, when two words are combined- "Let's play it cool and CHILLAX today instead of getting all worked up and stressed out about how uncool the Corona Bologna virus". 

     Since I'm on a roll, let's take it a step further. The word "hot" doesn't mean what it did in the olden days either. Formerly it was confined to something being a degree or two above warm, a preferred condition good if you're drinking coffee, but undesirable if you're drinking Coca-Cola. But these days it indicates that someone or something is, like "cool", desirable. As in, "It's cool you have a hot girlfriend and all, but you need to chillax a little and hang out with us guys some, too". (Why does that sentence have to have "and all" in it? Because that's what the cool kids say).

     I'm also hearing the word "super" a lot nowadays. Fine and decent English teachers taught me during my schooling days that the word "very" was an unnecessary and useless word in a sentence. As in-"I feel very tired today". Very doesn't really do anything there- you're either tired or you're not. And I think English teachers still don't like it when students use the word "very" these days. So the kids have substituted another word- "super" to take its place. As in- "I'm super psyched to be able to just chillax today."

     Not long ago I heard a young man talking about taking his significant other to a Starbucks and asking if he could order two simple, regular cups of coffee and the worker there looked at him like he had just ordered a T-bone steak at Chick-Fil-A. "I thought it was a super normal question, but he reacted like I was nuts", declared the cool youngster with the hot girlfriend. 

     Super Normal. Really? How can there be such a thing? Something or someone really can't be a degree of normal. It's either normal or it's not. But kids these days love to say that word "super" so who am I to prevent them from enjoying that pleasure. 

     We super size our fast food order to get more calories and artery cloggers. We have supermarkets, Super Mario, superstars, super powers, the Super Bowl, supervisors, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and Superman (who can whoop anything that doesn't involve Kryptonite- or, as was the case in one movie, Batman). 

     I guess I kinda get it. We need words that will help us express degrees of emotion and help make our point. But sometimes those words may end up being more confusing than enlightening. 

     Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ didn't have such an issue. Though he spoke in parables, when it came to who He was, He never used fanciful words and was to the point. In John 14:6 he says- "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light, no one comes to the Father except through me". No adjectives, no words to indicate degrees (neither hot nor cold). Just a simple, take it or leave it statement. 

     And though He didn't have to in order to prove His authority, occasionally this super man would perform supernatural acts to indicate the superpowers given to Him by his Father. And when He deemed it necessary, He put the rich and self-promoting "wise" men of His day in their place quite often. Cool. Not so hot now, are you Mr. Pharisee?

     Yes, He gave it to us plain and simple, so much so that even a wretch like me can understand it. And I'm super glad He did.