Ed Sullivan was a very early television personality. His TV variety show started in 1948 and ended in 1971. In 1948, most folks did not own a television set. As time passed, television became the entertainment center for the average family. I remember on the Ed Sullivan show a fast-talking entertainer by the name of Al Kelly. His routine was to double talk. Double talk is defined in part as, “Meaningless speech that consists of nonsense syllables mixed with intelligible words; gibberish, deliberately ambiguous or evasive language. Furthermore, called doublespeak.”
Another interesting word that is used to describe a type of double-talking is jangling. Jangling is found once in the King James Version of the New Testament as follows. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling” (1 Timothy 1:5-6).
Other versions of the New Testament translate the end of verse six as “vain talking” (ASV) or “vain discussion” (ESV). Our English dictionary defines jangling in part as, “To talk idly; to quarrel verbally; to utter or sound in a discordant, babbling, or chattering way.” We all can understand that jangling is idly conflicting speech that is designed to mislead the hearer. I have heard a lot of double-talking in the political world and in the religious arena also. How about you?
Without beating up this subject, let us in a simple way say, what you and I must do is to obey God via the Scriptures. Anything else is to go beyond the Word of God. What matters for all mankind is, “What does the Bible say?” Let us all remember, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15 KJV). “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).
