I am “celebrating my first pride month as openly and publicly queer,” posted a celebrity’s kid sending the nation abuzz but four days later, she denied being, “a lesbian, nor have I claimed to be,” adding that being “queer ≠ lesbian.”

“?” went my bubble thought. So I googled what queer meant and according to one LGBTQ website:

Queer is often used as an umbrella term referring to anyone who is not straight...Historically the term queer was used as a slur against LGBTQIA people, but in recent years it has been reclaimed by LGBTIQ communities. However, some LGBTIQA people still find the term offensive.

Another LGBTQ has this definition:

An adjective used by some people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don’t apply to them….Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBTQ people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBTQ community.

So the definition depends on the milieu as well as on the user and hearer, which is nothing new as far as language is concerned. Words and their meaning evolve, in the way the pronoun, “they” is being used to refer to a singular person who identifies neither male nor female. If the Flintstones theme song were written today, it might not end with “gay ol’ time.”

And then there was a time that to call a Chinese-Filipino “Intsik” was derogatory but then some said it shouldn’t be as it was derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning “his uncle.” Same as “queer,” some Tsinoys don’t mind but this one does.

Do you know how dictionaries are made? People think it’s Mr. Webster who decides what a word means. No, scholars observe how a word is used by us, ordinary people.

In the midst of evolving definitions, there are still words with meanings intact since their inception, like sin, love, rainbow, and marriage because it’s God and only God who defines them. Yes, we might find other meanings in the dictionary, but it is only His definition that truly matters especially in matters of eternity, regardless of how we feel about it.

• Sin has always meant to miss the mark since the warning in Genesis of knowing good and evil. (Gal. 6:8)
• Love will always be God, not about God but is God (1 John 4:16), hence it must reflect His character. It is His love that has won.
• The rainbow will always be God’s reminder of His covenant between Him and “all life on the earth.” (Gen 9:16-17) One might say that the rainbow has been hijacked by the LGBTQ. If they want to embrace it, let them. God’s Word is powerful, “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12). Who knows? Seeds might be planted as they wrap themselves with the flag that carries God’s symbol of love and promise.
• Marriage is between a male and a female---biologically or by birth (Mark 10:6-9).

These definitions won’t ever change because they are based on God’s Word that will never change (Isa. 40:8, Ps. 119:89). God is Word itself (John 1:1) and He does not change. (Heb. 13:8)

Change can be good but not when it comes to our understanding of things that affect our eternity. Imagine if God would change His definition every now and then and we’re not aware of it until it’s too late---like we’re standing in front of Him on judgment day? And no matter how people attempt to usurp God by redefining His vocabulary, remember, “let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).