Saturday, December 1, 2018

Toward or Froward?

What is the difference between "toward" and "froward"? Most people do not use the second word very much today. It does show up quite a few times in the old King James translation of the Bible, but I cannot recall seeing it anywhere in modern literature. For a person to be "toward" means that he is facing you (and thus willing to listen to what you are saying). For a person to be "froward" means that he is facing away from you (and thus unwilling to listen to you). The words, back when they were used commonly, were direct opposites. Instead of "froward" we often use words today like "obstinate" or "belligerent", but they do not have the exact same substance.

It is somewhat sad that we do not use the word "froward" much today, because in spite of its lack of usage, it is happening constantly. We have become a culture of froward people; all of whom refuse to listen to good counsel. It often does not make a difference whether a person is traditional or modern, liberal or conservative, young or old; you can find froward people at every turn. Whenever we become attached to a selfish desire, and refuse to be corrected, we become froward. It is those worldly attachments that lead us away from God.

There are a few particular areas that we each need to be aware of when it comes to these temptations to a froward selfishness. Let me list them and explain each:

    the desire to control things and others
This refers to the temptation of the abuse of authority. Those who fall into this sin presume that they know better than everyone else, and genuinely believe that if they were in charge of things, that they could do everything correctly. Far more people have descended into this behavior than we would like to admit. This is what we would often refer to as someone with "control issues" who has tendencies to fall into dictatorial actions.

    the desire to obtain knowledge to use against others
This refers firstly to the belief that one's personal intelligence is so far superior to anyone else, that people should immediately bow to their opinions. There are many different directions that this temptation can be taken, but it is seen in a few areas more than others. Some pursue scientific studies for the sake of using the "knowledge" for their own means. Others will fall into this by being a gossip. Still others are subject to the foolish notion that the Internet is the real world; they spend hours every day looking for one more juicy detail that will help them to be superior.

    the desire for influence over others
Not often considered in these discussions, this temptation is not related to the desire to bring the truth of Christ to the world. Rather, this is the obsession to lead for one's own purposes (which is what "clericalism" actually is). The media, journalists, and authors (and frequently, today, bloggers) all are subject to this sin (yes, I know this applies to me as well). To help others to find the truth of Christ and guide people in wisdom, is, of course, a good thing; that is not what we are speaking of.

You probably noticed that each of these overlaps the other two. Yes, there are similarities, but people tend to lean more to one or the other aspect. The problem is not wanting to lead, with wisdom, and guide people; the problem is those who do so and are unwilling to be corrected. These behaviors all can be described as an insistence in getting our own way; always. We have all heard of the "bridezillas" who demand everyone bow to their every wish, but there are a large number of other "zillas" roaming around these days (as a clergyman, I can say that there are a number of clergyzillas).

In one time or another each of us is tempted to behave in a froward manner. It is often called being stubborn or willful. The froward person, however, is the one who stands "facing away" and says he does not care about others, and his "delusions of grandeur" impact everything that he does. Do not start thinking about others whom you know to be froward (that is what froward people do!). Instead, I encourage everyone who is reading this to do some introspection and seek to determine if you are froward. Most froward people do not see their own error; do not be one of them.