The word semantics can be both a blessing and a curse for those seeking to implement change – when Housing Associations started to refer to their tenants as customers, a whole different culture of excellent services began to grow, because of the change from one symbolic word to another. On the whole, employees of those same associations that sneered at the change, held attitudes towards people seeking social housing that were no longer acceptable or helpful; this is an example of how a change in language can usher in real change in people’s attitudes and actions.
So when we see the church responding positively towards the
challenge of ‘Hungry Britain’ it is really important that we accurately reflect
our compassion for those we are looking to show grace towards with the use of
appropriate language.
The reason ‘semantics’ can be a problem here is that we
don’t always give enough thought to what words (especially those that lump
groups together) symbolise – we find ourselves being quite cynical at times –
oh, that’s just semantics! This is code
for our disapproval of those (usually politicians) who would appear to be
dancing on the head of a pin in their use of language to disguise their real intent
or their lack of sincerity.
Semantics is...’the study of how meaning in language is
created by the use and interrelationship of words, phrases and sentences’.
‘Poor’ is a highly complex word with lots of baggage – on
its own, it can conger up all sorts of pictures in our minds, symbolising all
sorts of people and situations, conferring little in the way of status and
eliciting all sorts of responses; if today a word could be put up for the prize
for being the most complex in its meaning, then this would surely be a strong
contender.
Jesus understood poverty because he came to be poor – he was
alive to the issues and so should we be. We should also be thoughtful in our use
of the language we own, when describing our relationship with, and actions
toward our neighbours.
On reflection, talking about ‘the poor’ may well be
alienating the very people to whom we wish to show God’s love. Perhaps a
working definition could be something like ‘neighbours going through a tough
time’ – this was just off the top of my head, but I feel I can own it for now,
as it refers to people just like us, experiencing what we all go through every
now and then, and holding the hope of an end in sight.
