Old Words and New Meanings
It’s fun to see things come full circle. I was eating breakfast in a trendy restaurant recently when I noticed a turkey painting on the wall like one my mother had in the late 80’s. My mother didn’t realize then that she was a trendsetter. It’s true there is nothing new under the sun. Hang on to something long enough and it’ll come back around. The new is usually some mash up of the old. Mother didn’t have a velvet Queen Ann sofa under her turkey painting.
As I sat there half reflecting on the painting and half scrolling Instagram, I pondered the confluence of new and old. Scrolling isn’t a new idea. The prophets of old were scrolling before scrolling was cool. Even the concept of following someone isn’t new though its online iteration is different from the past.
What does it mean to follow someone these days? We don’t always think about the terms that are permeating our lives. I began to assess the people who scrolled through my screen; those who were extending an invitation to follow, and those I was following. Isn’t it interesting that the word we’ve landed on to describe relationship in the digital space is follow.
The historic definition of follow is to accept as authority. That’s probably not our intent when we click to follow. Typically, it’s more of an exchange. You follow me. I follow you. How can that work? We’ve redefined follow away from authority to the softer meaning of influence. The word to follow, by nature a very exclusive term (how can you follow in multiple directions?), has undergone a massive etymological shift to reduce pressure on both the one being followed and the follower. Let’s reduce the pressure of authority and settle on influence.
I’m not arguing this etymological shift. Influence relieves some of the pressure all around. To follow implies that someone is leading, and no one likes the authority word these days. Influence is the softer side of authority that reminds both parties that one side doesn’t hold all the cards. We see leaders fail regularly so let’s define the relationship in terms of influence and all keep one hand on the eject button otherwise known as unfollow.
I see a caution as we head down the influence path. Jesus in all 4 Gospels gave one invitation repeatedly and that invitation was follow me. It’s striking that the definitive word in the digital space is the ancient invitation that Jesus has extended throughout the age. What did Jesus mean in the invitation to follow and how endangered are we in interpreting the invitation anachronistically?
It appears following Jesus is moving toward influence rather than authority. When we consider the invitation that Jesus extended, it’s clear Jesus is offering (not forcing) to take the authoritative position over our lives. The invitation is remarkable in its inclusivity and just as remarkable in its exclusivity. He casts a wide net to day laborers, rulers, religious leaders, and prostitutes to follow Him down one path. That doesn’t sound like influence but authority.
The authority that Jesus demands is unlike the authority of man because of the One demanding authority. Our skewed perspective on human authority assumes the sacrifice is bottom up. It’s not the case with Jesus. The sacrifice was top down. Jesus stands as the pathway to God because He’s the way, the truth, and the life. It’s an inclusive invitation to an exclusive path because Jesus’s physical body paved the way.
Exclusivity demands authority but not all authority leads to death. The authority Jesus extends leads to life. Influence doesn’t get us there. Jesus calls us to follow down the exclusive path to life that never ends.