“Significant Other”?

Richard Hollerman

It seems that more and more we hear or read about a “significant other.” But what does this mean and what other terms are used? Is this something that you, personally, use and how do you use it.  I’ve been somewhat naïve regarding some of these terms and assumed that it just was another term for a friend or maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend. I’m not saying that I always assumed that it was a good and wholesome word but, at least, I didn’t think that it held a sinister meaning.

Technically, a “significant other” is a person in your life that is “significant.” As we all know, significant means “having or expressing a meaning.” All is well. However, the term “significant other” can have a horrible meaning. The American Heritage College Dictionary defines this contemporary word in this way: “a person with whom one shares a long-term sexual relationship.” The second definition is somewhat more neutral: “An important or influential person in one’s life.” It is the first definition that the Christian will find highly objectionable!

If this is the way it is with one well-known dictionary, what about the Random House Webster’s College Dictionary? This is what we read from this esteemed source: “1. A person who has great influence on one’s behavior and self-esteem. 2. A spouse or cohabiting lover.” So it seems that the term can be used in an acceptable way but it can also be used in an immoral manner.

This would mean that the term must denote a person who either shares a sexually immoral relationship which could be a sodomite relationship (such as a homosexual one) or a relationship involving fornication or adultery. Either way, we know that a “significant other” would be a person who shares a wicked relationship. So sad.

Before I began to study this matter, I was somewhat naïve, as I earlier said. I was under the impression that if one gave a gift (for example) to a “significant other” in your life, this would simply be a person with whom one finds something in common. But no. It seems that the term is an evil one that refers to an immoral or unlawful relationship.

When a person says, “Please come with your significant other,” it might seem entirely innocent but it may be used in an immoral manner. If someone has a good usage in mind, why wouldn’t they say, “Bring your wife,” or, “Bring your husband”? There is no mistaken information here. Of course, we know that a husband or a wife may refer to someone who is in a second marriage, thus the word may be used wrongly even in this way can could denote an adulterous relationship.

Thus, be careful about using the identifier, “your significant other,” for this may refer to a person who is immoral—such as a sodomite, a fornicator, or the like. I realize that I am somewhat ignorant about such usages, thus generally I have had proper thoughts in mind when someone uses the term. In reality, just as Satan has used words and terms in a way that seems right but is in reality wrong. Let’s be “wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil” (Romans 16:20).