We use the word “awesome” a lot. I say “we” because I’m guilty also. A wise Spaniard once said, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” If you look into the etymology of the word, you can clearly see the change in its use. It began to be used in the English language in the 1590s and was used in the context of something that was “profoundly reverential” or “that which inspires awe.” It was in the 1960s that it started getting used as something good or great. In 2013, the Lego Movie further degraded the word by giving us the song, Everything Is Awesome. Let’s think about this: If everything is awesome then nothing is truly awesome. What is wrong with that? Let’s read a few verses to see if I can illustrate. Jacob was given a dream from God in the place that would later be called Bethel or house of God. After the dream, the Bible says, “He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’” (Gen. 28:17). Now if you read that passage again and think of awesome in the context of today’s meaning, it has a different idea. “How cool/great is this place” is very different than “How profoundly reverential or awe inspiring is this place.” In another place, Moses was encouraging the people concerning their imminent conquest of Canaan. He said, “You shall not dread the [inhabitants of Canaan], for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God” (Deut. 7:21). A great and “totally tubular” God does not inspire one as much as the awesomeness of God. We lose so much of the impact of God’s awesomeness if we use todays Merriam-Webster’s version or common use of the word. The King James Version translates the word as “fearful,” “terrifying,” “dreadful.”
Consider these things. It was the Awesome God that spoke the world into existence. It was the Awesome God that spoke from Mt. Sinai and caused the people to tremble saying, “Let not God speak to us or we will die” (Ex. 20:19). It was the Awesome God that filled the temple with His presence before Isaiah which caused him to say, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (Isa. 6:5). “Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; they will sing praises to Your name.’ Selah. Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men” (Psa. 66:3-5).
Will I/we stop using the word awesome when we mean great or cool? Probably not. However, will we stop and consider the true awesomeness of God? That which inspires a sense of wonder, dread and profound reverence for Him? Yes.