The Sacred Task Of Stewarding Language

The Sacred Task Of Stewarding Language

I wrote a few times at Biblical Human Dailyabout a book I recently read, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism.

I recommend the book as it is a sober warning about the way cults and cultish brands use language to manipulate and control people.

Is that why God gave us language?

Manipulation is a poor stewardship of this amazing gift of communication.

I often think about this as I study good writing, especially good copywriting. It uses psychology, but there’s a line somewhere.

When I am coaching writers, and in my own writing, I’m always concerned with three questions:

1. What do I want them to know?

2. What do I want them to do?

3. What do I want them to feel?

The first two seem honest and straightforward, but the third makes me a little squeamish.

Number one seems like I’m just conveying the facts (ma’am), and what could be wrong with sharing the truth?

Number two is pretty upfront; I’m writing because I want you to do something. In today’s post, I want you to take care of how you use language and recommit to stewarding the gift of written communication. I’m open about it. It’s in the title. 

But number three deals with emotion. The reason I include it is—well, there are two reasons:

1. People aren’t interested in stuff if they can’t feel anything about it. Emotions are the stuff of life. Who wants to go through a day without feeling things? Only people who are afraid to feel because the circumstances of their lives are so bad. But they are the very ones who need to feel if they are going to be moved to do anything about those circumstances. 

    

2. People do not transform when they do not engage emotionally. The body chemistry will not change.

Therefore, we must use language to help people feel the appropriate emotion to go with the facts and the calls to action.

So, how do we do this ethically?

 

The Answer: Make sure the emotion is commensurate with the fact. If I say, “Jesus died on the cross for you and calls you to repent and believe in Him to be forgiven,” it would be weird if I didn’t try to help you feel the following emotions: 

1. Fear (of paying for your own sin)

2. Joy (at the prospect of His salvation)

3. Eager

4. Anticipation of relief

5. Relief

It matters that I truly believe what I’m “selling.” If I do, I want to tell stories and anecdotes and use language and tone that conveys that.

If I don’t believe it and sell it like I do, I’m a manipulative liar, even if what I’m saying is true.

Here’s an example of the way a former mentor, a pastor, once used language unethically and manipulatively:

Someone asked him, “Is it okay for us to have any differences of opinions with you?”

He said, “Sure. For instance, if you thought you should have your church take the Lord’s Supper more often than me, that’s okay.”

Then he said, “Now…if you say you don’t believe the Bible on tithing, that’s a problem.”

Did you catch that? He could have said, “If you say you don’t think the Bible teaches tithing…”

That would have been an honest use of language. But he said, “You don’t believe the Bible on tithing,” implying that disagreeing with him means disbelieving the Bible. However, that was a lie because the nature of the New Testament tithe is up for interpretation, but his language was designed to hide that truth. 

I say it was a lie because I believe he knows it’s up for interpretation, but he didn’t feel he could afford for anyone to know that. He was manipulative, and this continued to manifest horrible things throughout his career. 

Stewarding language means being totally honest. Go all in on trying to convince others of your point of view and motivating them to agree based on facts.

Go all in on painting vivid word pictures, telling stories, and concretizing the concepts you find worth spreading, but be honest.

Also, know that those you are writing to have a mind of their own and are individuals. They will need to truly believe whatever they accept. Manipulating them with instrumental language and psychological tricks doesn’t allow for that.

Will you be less effective? Maybe in the short run. But that is better than being a con.

Steward this amazing gift of language and spread the truth as you see it. The world needs to consider what you honestly believe to be factual. But the world gets to reject it if they find a flaw in your facts. Don’t hoodwink the world into accepting something they couldn’t accept on its face without manipulation. That would be evil.