Language

few months ago I heard a speaker talking about becoming familiar with the things that are around us so that we have a means of communication to reach the people around us. As his basis for saying this, he pointed out that Jesus spoke to people in parables, using things they could understand, like farming and fishing and such. I didn’t agree with a bulk of what he said, however. Why should I watch trashy TV shows, just so that I can make small talk with everyone else who watches those trashy shows? Or why should I waste my time pursuing a hobby that I don’t have any interest in, just so that I can have something in common with all the other people who have that hobby?

If you listened beyond what he was actually saying, however, he had a point. This morning I thought of a great illustration.

I have a friend who is of East Indian decent, having been raised in Africa and living a few years in London before coming to this country. Every time she hosts a holiday feast (mostly for her husband’s family in the area) she invites me to join them. I’m usually the only fair-skinned person in the group, and also usually the only person present who cannot understand their "native" tongue.

Over the years, I’ve noticed an amusing phenomenon. The kids all hang around the big TV screen, either watching movies or chatting in American-English voices. The men sit together around a couple tables, speaking in accented English about money and business. The women sit together around a couple more tables, and by the smattering of English words that I catch, they are evidently discussing jewelry, clothes, relatives, and visits to London and India.

Last Thanksgiving, I commented to a mutual (also Indian) friend who was there how odd it was that the men all spoke in English, while the women spoke almost entirely in their native tongue. Her explanation was simple: the men were accustomed to dealing with American businessmen and work situations, where English was required for communication. The women were primarily homemakers, and most of their communication was with other women of their own linguistic background. Because their contact with the English-speaking world was limited, they naturally slipped into their own language at every opportunity.

This may well have been the point that speaker was trying to make. If we spend most of our time communicating with others who use King James English and quote Bible passages to express themselves, we’re going to have great difficulty explaining a spiritual principle to a "foreigner" in a language they can understand. If you slip over into "Christianese" every time you talk about the Lord, how can you be surprised if your listener loses interest? I lose interest, too, when a dozen women are conversing in a language I can’t understand!

We have the power—if we’ll use it—to translate what God is saying, so others can understand it.

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