Gaslighting

With cultural change happening so fast, the dictionary is always deleting and adding words to reflect those changes. It seems that while some words are outdated and no longer necessary, new words are popping up all the time. The folks at the Merriam Webster dictionary have announced the word of the year for 2022 is gaslighting. The term originated from the title of a 1938 movie and play about a man who was doing everything he could to make his wife think she was going crazy. The dictionary defines the word this way: the psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories that typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator. Parents, we must teach our kids to evaluate all truth claims in light of the timeless Truth of God’s Word.