Translating the Language of Karmic Balance

Suggested Reading: 1 Corinthians 14:6-12

Several years go, I had the privilege of spending a summer witnessing to a Vietnamese family that had moved into the neighborhood. Most of my conversations took place with a college-aged young man from the family. He had been raised in a Buddhist tradition and had only been in the States for a couple of years. Very early on in the discussion I discovered a significant difficulty in witnessing to this man: language. I don't mean that we spoke different languages in the sense that I spoke English and they spoke Vietnamese because most of them spoke very good English. I mean that there were entire concepts that were alien to them. Sin was literally a foreign concept. How do you convince someone that they need to be saved from sin when they don't understand what sin is or why it could cause lasting consequences? When you believe firmly that karmic balance is always possible, why would anyone ever need a savior? That summer I had to learn ways to communicate the Gospel in its most basic form and in terms that someone completely unfamiliar with Western Christianity would understand.

In 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul was discussing the roll of speaking in tongues in the church and he wrote, There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, and all have meaning. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me (1Co 14:10-11, HCSB). Paul was specifically addressing the benefits of saving that particular spiritual gift for non-public moments unless an interpreter was present, but the statement also has larger implications pertaining to basic communication, like the example of witnessing to my Vietnamese neighbors.

More and more we live in a world where people do not understand the language we use when we witness. Words like "sin" and "saved" mean little in a world where people either believe everybody goes to Heaven or that your existence ends the moment you die. Fifty years ago, the American church still had the educational power that ensured nearly everyone knew what "justification" and "atonement" meant, even if they didn't put much stock in those things. Today's society has grown up without those influences and educational experiences and we must learn to speak a new language. We must learn to step outside of the church cultures in which we operate and speak in a language that unchurched, unreached people understand. We must strive to understand the Gospel well enough that we can communicate it in its most basic form to those who have no reference for what we are saying. Who is Jesus? Why do we need Him? How do we follow Him? What difference will following Him make? If we cannot answer these questions in simple terms, we might as well be speaking a foreign language.

Letting Someone Else Control Your Language

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 8:11-22

The political season has kicked into high gear. If you thought political commercials have been annoying so far, just wait two weeks and you may consider tossing out your televisions and radios. One of the first rules of politics is to try to control the language of the debate. That is why there are multiple words or phrases that are intended to apply to the same group of people or ideas depending on which side of the discussion you agree with. That is why people on one side say, "Pro-life" and on the other side say, "anti-abortion." It is why labels get tossed around with increasing frequency. If you can control the language, if you can control the definitions behind the words, then you can control who wins the discussion (in theory).  An example of controlling definitions can be seen with the word "homophobia," for example. "Homophobia" used to mean "an extreme fear of homosexuals." The word has now been changed so that anyone who does not endorse homosexuality is a "homophobe." No one wants to be labeled a homophobe, or a racist, or a sexist, or a bigot. So, if you can back someone into a corner where they give you what you want or are branded with one of those labels, you can win the argument.

Controlling the language of discussions is nothing new. In fact, God warned the prophet Isaiah against simply accepting the language and concepts of the day. In Isaiah 8:11-13 we find, "For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep me from going the way of this people. Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance. Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified. You are to regard only the LORD of Hosts as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be held in awe" (HCSB). God warned Isaiah not to blindly accept the language of the people: "Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance." In other words, the fact that someone uses a particular word a certain way doesn't change the definition of the word, so don't fall for it. Words have definitions. And while, yes, definitions can change over time, we do not have to let people with particular agendas change them for the rest of humanity. If we allow the world to change the definitions for us, the world will change the way we think.

God also warned Isaiah about that danger: "Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified." Do not let them tell you how to think. Do not let them tell you how to feel. Do not allow everyone else's mindsets and thought patterns to automatically shift yours. Think for yourself. Examine the definitions being tossed around by the people you interact with.  Don't allow labels or intimidation to influence you.  As believers, we are to be the salt of the earth, to help preserve the world against the natural decay that sets in without a preserving influence. If we abdicate that position by simply granting the world control of the language we use, our preserving power diminishes greatly.

When you notice people using words in ways that don't quite fit, when you find yourself on the receiving end of the power of a label, don't simply accept the language. If it's not worth getting into an argument, at least make sure that you don't accept the new language yourself. Don't be influenced by twisted language.

New Languages and Royal Favors

Suggested Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-9

After Jerusalem was destroyed and its people taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Persian Empire conquered Babylon and the Jewish people were allowed to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding. But when the Persian King was informed of Jerusalem's rebellious history, revolting against Egypt, Assyria, and several times against Babylon, King Artaxerxes stopped the rebuilding of the wall. He didn't trust Jerusalem and didn't want to take a risk on it.

But then God laid the state of Jerusalem's wall on the heart of Nehemiah, Artaxerxes' trusted cupbearer and food taster. Nehemiah waited until the Persian New Year, when the kings were known for giving lavish feasts and being very generous in granting requests and then he approached the king and asked, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it" (Nehemiah 2:5, HCSB).

Now, Artaxerxes knew Nehemiah was from Jerusalem and was aware of what Nehemiah was asking for a city that Artaxerxes did not trust, but Nehemiah never used the word Jerusalem. He knew that the moment that word passed from his lips, the king would stiffen up. So Nehemiah presented his request in a different light, using a phrase to communicate clearly which city he was talking about but which would connect it to Nehemiah's grief and not the king's suspicion of a rebellious city. Nehemiah did not deceive and he did not change his request but he knew his audience and knew how to communicate with the king.

As we interact with our neighbors, friends and co-workers, as we witness to people who may have hang ups about the church or who have been hurt by religion, we need to get to know these people well enough to communicate with them on a level they will respond to. Rather than using church language or pushing a religion, we need to learn to communicate the pure Gospel of Christ in a language and in terms they will respond to. We need to be aware of their hangups and suspicions and do what we can to communicate the Gospel in a way that is completely true to the Gospel but that doesn't make them bristle up and shut down. Such an approach may require some effort and some patience on our part, but we will be much more effective in communicating the Gospel.