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When I was a kid, the world came in two shades: black and white. Something was or it wasn’t. An idea was right or wrong. You avoided wrong and bad things while participating in right and good things. That’s just how it was, and anyone who didn’t understand the world like I did and then behave accordingly confused me to no end.
One of the things I grew up believing was that words matter. If you say you’re going to do a thing, you’re going to do the thing. There’s grace for forgetfulness and unforeseen circumstances, but you do the thing you said you were going to do, and if you’re not really interested in doing the thing then you don’t ever commit to it out loud.
One of the things I grew up believing was that words matter.
I grew up as a Vineyard kid—that is, one of the many non-denominational Christian churches under the umbrella of Vineyard, USA—and among the many worship songs we sang, there was a particular one called Surrender that never sat right with me. The first verse and chorus goes:
I’m giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I’m giving you my dreams, I’m laying down my rightsx
I’m giving up my pride for the promise of new life
And I surrender all to You, all to You
And I surrender all to You, all to You
Click on picture to listen to Mark James sing Surrender
Words matter to me, and “all” is an awfully broad, unspecified category.
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