Always and Never

Have you ever thought much about the words always and never?  Those are such absolute words, aren’t they?  Think about what they mean:

Always:  At all times, through all past or future times, continuously, forever.

Never: An adverb indicating that something will not happen at any time, not ever, not once, on no occasion, at no time.

There’s a great quote I’ve heard before with regard to these two words, “Always and never are two words you ought always remember never to use.”  And if you’ve lived any amount of time on this planet then you are familiar with this saying as well, “Never say never!”  This is usually declared in response to statements like, “When I have children I will never use the phrase ‘because I said so’ with them,” or, “When I get married I will never get annoyed by the things that I hear other wives getting annoyed with their husbands over.”  Yes, you will – on both counts.  Been there, done that.

I think it’s worth noting that women tend to get pegged with being the biggest offenders of using always and never.  The phrase used to describe our affinity for this is called “over-exaggeration”.  In other words, we use them as a form of hyperbole.  We aren’t committed to the true meaning of the word, we just want to make a point (you never listen to me; you always have to have the last word).  And in tongue in cheek fashion, when we do this, ladies, it is almost always never an effective strategy in resolving whatever issue prompted our use of either word.

I also discovered that people (notice I did not type ‘women’) who view the world through a black and white lens are quite comfortable rotating these two words into their conversations more than those who prefer shades of gray.  

And finally, just for good measure, here’s another quote:  “Always and never statements are always false and never true.”  And it’s this quote that got me wondering if there is really any time that we can safely use these words with anyone.  I mean, can we really claim that we will always love someone in every instance that could possibly ever come up throughout the spectrum of time?  Or that we will never willingly hurt or disappoint someone that we love more than life itself?  While I think our intentions behind such statements are sincere and we desperately want to believe that we do in fact mean “always” and “never”, I don’t know that we have the ability to pull it off.  We’re fallen humans, and so maybe the previous quote is true for us, but…it is false for God!  And that changes everything, doesn’t it?  It’s the best news we could have in a world filled with people like:

Miss I Will Always Be Your Friend…who shares your secrets with others.

Mr. I Will Never Leave You…who serves you divorce papers.

Miss You Can Always Count on Me…who is nowhere to be found when the bottom falls out from under you.

Mr. I Will Never Let You Down…who fails to show up….again.

So ladies, I wanted to select just a few verses of Scripture where God uses always and never, and I want you to think about the implications of each.  Please know there are plenty more examples than these, I checked it out myself – but for the sake of this blog, these will definitely do:

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails. 

I Corinthians 13:4-8

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

The Lord’s loving-kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.  Great is Thy faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-23

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:20

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  2 Corinthians 2:14

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
 Hebrews 7:25

It appears that God is quite comfortable using always and never.  I think it’s because He alone is the only one who can back up such words by the power of His character and nature.  He alone is always good, perfect, holy, faithful, just, merciful, gracious, and righteous.  He alone will never fail to fulfill any promises or claims that He has made.  And I do mean, never!

And so to close this blog I will quote our good friend Paul with an always appropriate response that will never leave empty or sad, “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!”

My verse for this time around is I Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.  Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

 Beth Moore used this verse at the Living Proof Live Conference just a few weeks ago and I absolutely loved it.  I couldn’t wait until this next post so that I could begin to learn it!  What a fantastic declaration to set my mind upon each day!