Titanic Truth Reveal: What Censorship REALLY Is
Maybe it’s because I’m a lover of the SCRABBLE board game. Maybe it’s because I’m a songwriter well-practiced in wielding words. Whatever the reason, I’m in a fascinating season of what I call word-wows.
What is a word-wow? It’s a word (or sometimes combination of words) that I see or hear a hidden meaning or message in. I know it doesn’t come from me – it’s from God. It happens at random times, often when I am in prayer or thinking about something I’ve been puzzling through. Sometimes, when I’m conversing with someone or listening to a person speak, I hear them say a certain word and feel a sudden translation downloading into a personal message for that person.
I love to know the “whys” and “hows” of things, so I’m always going digging for answers. So, I suppose these word-wows are like “word archaeology” discoveries during my “digs” for truth!
Recently, I was in prayer about censorship that is happening everywhere we turn (including on my GAMGstories faith platform). Words, opinions, and information are being “flagged” and “blocked.” Social media accounts and YouTube channels are being suddenly removed. Cancel culture is now the rising culture.
Lord, how could this be happening, where we are supposed to be a nation of free speech. WHY is this happening in America?
In an instant, I saw and heard the word censorship in a completely different way. God gave me a rapid download about a hidden meaning inside the very structure of the word!
Are you ready to dig into the word-wow of censorship? Try this yourself. Speak the word “censorship” aloud slowly, separating the syllables. What do you hear with your ears as you speak the word?
Cen.sor.ship = sin-soar-ship
Let’s dig into each syllable.
What is sin?
noun
an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.
"a sin in the eyes of God"
What is soar?
verb
fly or rise high in the air.
"the bird spread its wings and soared into the air"
increase rapidly above the usual level.
"the cost of living continued to soar"
What is ship?
noun
a vessel larger than a boat for transporting people or goods by sea.
Put it all together…what does sin-soar-ship mean? Follow along for the big reveal!
Sin.
There could be much written to expound on examples of sin in the world. But for purposes of this blog, I will simply say, look to God’s Word to define what sin is.
If you are a follower of Christ, then you consider the Bible -- The Word -- to be the authority, because He IS The Word (John 1:1-3). Scripture also tells us that as Christians we are “in the world but not of the world” (John 15:19), which means that as a Christ follower, the very substance of who I am is of The Word -- not of the world. I desire to live my life according to what God’s Word says is right and good and true, not what the world says is right and good and true. I desire to fulfill His plans for my life, not my own plans for my life. I know I’m not perfect and it’s impossible for me to live a sinless life like Jesus did…but… I SINcerely (!!)** thank Him for taking my sin to the cross. I am not condemned to spending eternity separated from His love due to my sin, because His selfless love has set me free!
** (Side note -- Did you catch that “SINcere” word-wow above? My SIN was literally “seared” to the cross by Jesus. I am branded by the marks on His hands. My life belongs to the One who gave Himself for me… therefore, I have freedom in Christ)! :-o
[ “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.”
– Galatians 6:17
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” – 2 Corinthians 4:10 ]
Soar.
Let’s dig into this word now. This word is a verb that can have two meanings:
1) fly or rise high in the air.
"the bird spread its wings and soared into the air"
2) increase rapidly above the usual level.
"the cost of living continued to soar"
Because we are examining the word-wow of sin.soar.ship, we should ask this question: What is the thing (within this word) that is soaring?
The answer is sin. Sin is soaring at an unabashed, unprecedented, seemingly unstoppable level. Within our nation, founded on Judeo-Christian values* and a Constitution** providing every person the right of free speech, we are living in a time when free speech is under attack at an openly accelerated level. The words of the Bible are coming to life before our very eyes: what is good is being called evil; what is evil is being called good. If you are a Christian who ‘sees’ with a Biblical world view, there is no doubt you are noticing the rapid increase of this happening not just in America, but around the world. [* and ** - See reSOURCEs at bottom].
Who does the Bible say is “the prince of the power of the air” here on earth? Satan (Ephesians 2:2). The father of all lies, the tempter of all sin, the personification of evil itself is described by Paul as the prince of the power of the air.
So, we have both of the two meanings of “soar” now manifesting: sin is soaring (increasing rapidly) because satan is wielding his power of/over (flying or rising in) the air.
Thankfully, we who have chosen Jesus as our Lord and Savior DO NOT serve the prince of the power of the air. We serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And guess what? The King is greater than the prince!
While sin may be soaring in the world, we who are “in the world but not of the world” decree and declare the power of the Lord’s Prayer (taught by Jesus Himself) to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever, AMEN!” (So be it)!
Ship.
What is ship?
noun
a vessel larger than a boat for transporting people or goods by sea.
You can probably guess how the ship fits into this word-wow reveal. If you simply move the parts of sin.soar.ship to new positions within the word, this is what you end up with:
Sin.soar.ship =
ship of soar[ing] sin.
There it is! The hidden “why” of censorship: Censorship is happening in our world, because our world is a ship of soaring sin.
It is a ship that’s destined to sink at any moment because sin only leads to death, but satan doesn’t want the world to know this. He is the father of lies (John 8:44), so he is pulling out all the stops, of course, to throw us OFF the COURSE of TRUTH. How? BY CENSORSHIP !!
Wow! That’s a huuuuuge (Titanic!) truth reveal!
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to man, but that way leads to death…” which is another way of saying, “If you’re going your own way and deciding your path on your own, you’re heading towards the edge of a cliff without even knowing it.”
What about Christians who are choosing not to go ‘our own’ way? Those who know that going “the way of the world” leads to death and choose the way of The WORD instead of the way of the world?
We who “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), putting FIRST God’s ways - God’s will - and God’s Word (authority) in our lives, receive a different truth than what ‘the world’ says is truth. We who are in the world but not of the world have made the choice to NOT be on board the ship of soaring sin. We’re on a different boat.
Jesus, the One who walks on water and stills the storms, is the captain of our vessel. It is His voice that we harken to; His Word that steers our direction, our beliefs, and our choices. It is the vessel of The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6) that will not sink into the sea of death, because we sail on the sea of life. The captain of our vessel is, Himself, “The Living Water” (John 4:10, John 7:38). Jesus is also our lighthouse who shows us the way of navigation; He brings us back on course when we encounter storms of life. He is The SOURCE of truth and eternal life!
So, let’s recap this word-wow. We now know the who, what, why, and how behind censorship:
What is censorship: A ship of soaring sin. A vessel carrying rapidly increasing, rampant sin. A death ship, bound to sink just like the Titanic.
Who is behind censorship: satan, the prince of the power of the air. satan is the captain of the sin.soar.ship vessel.
Why there is censorship: To hide, suppress, and cancel TRUTH. Censorship is presented by ‘the world’ as “the right way” to protect people from bad information and/or bad people, but we know from The Word that the world’s way is NOT the right way… it actually leads to death. Remember, we’re not talking about “The Love Boat” here! The Bible calls satan “the father of lies” (John 8:44). That means he hates the truth. Putting it another way — the captain of lies wants to capture the truth! His goal is to seize it from the air-WAVES. Lock it up. Hide it from your eyes and ears and mind, in order to control your thoughts and beliefs.
How censorship is driven: The “who” behind the wheel of the sin.soar.ship is driving the vessel, and therefore is steering who/what should be censored, and who/what is deemed acceptable for the air-WAVES. The “prince of the power of the air” is the authority directing (in and through the spiritual realm) who/what is allowed in the air-WAVES…and who/what gets suppressed - hidden - discredited - canceled.
Wow. Talk about a Titantic Truth Reveal!
Did you know that the Bible foretold, in advance, that this would happen?
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
”For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18)
So…what do we do with all of this information? If you’re actually reading this (ummm…that is, if this truth about censorship hasn’t been censored…) …well…
God’s Word tells us: “Greater is He who is living in me than he who is living in the world.” (John 4:4). In my next blog, we’ll ‘dig in’ to the transforming power of truth, and how we, as God’s people, can help rescue those from the sinking Titanic!
Like this blog?
Click below to watch a short video story about how my word-wows began!
reSOURCEs:
In the world but not of the world: Cold Case Christianity
How is Jesus The Word? Verse by Verse Ministry
*America founded on Judeo-Christian values: Congress Resolution
**Right of free speech: Congress.gov - First Amendment Annotated
An interesting song by Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) that may have “hidden meaning” about this topic?