Radical vs. Fanatical

The meaning of the words that we use should be something that we know and not just by what we hear. These two words have been fascinating to me the last while because we hear them bantered about with the political and religious news that keeps coming up all around us. So in my curiosity I decided to really see what they mean. Are we using them correctly? I wanted to find the basic, root meaning of them.

Here is what I found:

Radical: relating to the most basic or important part of something; very basic and important; a radical change or way of doing something, is new and very different from the usual way; very new and different from what is traditional or ordinary.

Fanatical: behaving in an unreasonable way as a result of very strong beliefs; marked by excessive enthusiasm and often uncritical devotion; motivated or characterized by an extreme.

As I look at these words, I ask myself whatever does this have to do with healthy and simple living?

I think it has a lot to do with it. When we look at the things that make us healthy and see that the normal, accepted way in this day and age has nothing to do with keeping us healthy and well. It has everything to do with where I can make the next dollar for my own benefit. So it is time to go back to the root and the important part of healthy living. It is time that we become radical in our journey for truth and health. Going back to the basics of what God has said and provided is about as far back as we can go. God has provided the very things that we need to live here on this earth. He laid the foundations for us to live and to be successful in our lives.

When we become fanatical we begin to be unreasonable and often spout our beliefs whether they are based on truth or not. The emphasis we find in this definition is in the extremes of the belief. Unreasonable and excessive give us the feeling that it isn’t based in the root or the foundation, but it has drifted to be out on a limb somewhere with no connection to truth or God.

So as we search to find wisdom in our journey to health and simple living, are we radical and ready to find the root or foundation? Are we ready to walk into something new and not be a part of the usual way than what is normal in our day? Are we willing to step out and be different because it is the way to health and life?

Have we become fanatical to where there is not basis of truth in what we do? Are we out on a limb and our only answer is ‘because’ when asked why we do what we do?

As we contemplate the meaning of these words, let us ask for wisdom in knowing what is truth and the right path to take.

The prophet Hosea told the people what God said about searching for knowledge and wisdom. This is what it says in chapter 4, verse 6:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, though shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou has forgotten the law of they God, I will also forget they children.”

Don’t you think it is time that we do some searching for truth and not just go along with whatever we are told? Look, read, search, know the truth! And above all, ask God for wisdom in teaching you what is the foundation of healthy and simple living. He knows!