One of the first things my nerd-self did as I prepared to start writing about joy and contentment, was to go to dictionary.com and define Joy. I love words. I love seeing how their definitions open up new avenues for understanding and, by defining them, I find deeper complexities of how that word can be applied and used. I love to find their nuances, their meanings, or at least their culturally defined meanings. Because truly that’s how dictionaries work. The people putting the dictionaries together do not define a word based on its historical definition; on their own, they define the word based on how it is actually being used by everyday people. (I was blown away by this little truth bomb from a friend who is a lexicographer; i.e. dictionary editor.) Which means that definitions change, if they are based on human usage. This is then why I can say that I truly hate the dictionary.com definition of joy. But it is in fact, how most people would currently define the word. And therein lies the problem. It is defined by people of our surrounding culture and, as a result, its definition is devoid of God. It's devoid of real truth, leaving me to define it myself. Here is the current definition of Joy from the dictionary: 1) a feeling of great happiness 2) a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone 3) success in doing, finding, or getting something 4) a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety 5) a state of happiness or felicity : bliss 6) a source or cause of delight Here is my beef with dictionary.com. They define joy as an emotion or a feeling. I would call it a state of being. Joy need not be a fleeting feeling that comes and goes. Joy, here, is also defined as being clearly linked to something temporal (“success in doing, finding, or getting something”). Which is simply problematic. Once that “thing” that gave you joy is gone, your joy disappears as well. And don’t even get me started on “happy”. What does it even mean to be happy? I smile a lot, laugh out loud, am never sad? I cannot define joy this way. Or at least I refuse to. There must be more to it. So what is the definition? Since I am at the beginning of this venture, I will throw out a definition, but likely this is going to change. So beware. :) (It’s so much easier to say what something isn’t rather than what something actually is!) Joy: A settled, abiding state of being that gives one stability, peace, hope, and contentment, and has its source in God alone. To be continued…. Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash
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AuthorHi! I'm Brooke. Welcome to Sing O Barren One! I began this blog after years of unexplained infertility that resulted in five years of trying, four miscarriages, one daughter, and continued secondary infertility. While in seminary, I dove into scripture to help me make sense of my pain and struggle. What type of God would allow this? What I found there changed who I was, how I perceived my struggle, and most importantly my view of God. I wrote this blog as an outpouring of my grief and to joyfully share all that God has taught me. Archives
October 2020
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