Good? Wicked? Who Shall? Who Will? Oh, The Things We Say!

Languages have tended to slowly change over time. American English is no exception. It grew out of Old, Middle, and Modern British English, and became mixed with a host of influences from other languages. Language change took a quantum leap of acceleration, with the advent of the printing press, power driven transportation modes, and especially electronics. Once on foot, words and connotations now move instantly around the world.

Today, all too often, people forget, ignore, or deliberately confuse the real meanings of words. Some folks are exceedingly skilled at equivocating over the meanings of words, so that they introduce doubt and error, over denotations of words that historically were clear in common usage. Some deliberately twist meanings for their own evil purposes.

In the study of words there are denotations, which are the historically used meanings of the words, the long-standing cultural custom of the words. On the other hand connotations are the ways that the words may be used in certain applications, irrespective of what the words really mean. Some words have been co-opted by special interest groups, to serve that group, irrespective of what the historical usage has been. Sometimes those new connotations are antithetical to the original or historical denotations, illustrating a willful ignorance or deliberate corruption on the part of those who coin or use the new forced connotation of the word, corrupting its denotation.

There are many such alterations of language in today's American English, as with the word "wicked" and other words that originally were used only for describing evil things. In today's language, the Bible's prophecy has been fulfilled, that says that the day would come wherein evil would be called good and good would be called evil. (Isaiah 5:20, Malachi 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:3). No wonder that so many people are confused when they read the Bible, now, for it defines goodness and evil. The sin-driven cultural experience of people has been to intermix and confuse those two meanings. People must will themselves (choose) to discern the difference, or else they shall continue to live in linguistic and spiritual darkness as they neglect God's call to shun evil and embrace good.

Any respectable dictionary will tell the reader that "good" is a state of character of a person or thing, and "well" is a state of being, as with a person's health. Likewise, the word "will" is a matter of personal cognitive choice, a decision to do a certain thing. Similarly, that same dictionary is going to tell us that "shall" is a matter of duty, law, ordinance, obligation, or command on which one follows through or is compelled to perform. 

We can will ourselves to perform that which we shall or should do, but shall we will ourselves to do that which is against our will, or will we not do that which we should not do? God's Word is emphatic that we know and practice the difference between "will" and "shall". Our eternal destiny depends on our will to read, study, accept, receive, and practice the will of God in our lives. If we will to accept and receive His Word and salvation in Christ, then we shall live with Him eternally in His Heaven, for we shall have chosen, or willed ourselves, onto His will's path for our lives. Read the Bible, especially John and Romans, to see what God's will is for your life, joy, peace, and eternal destiny.