What Language Are You Speaking?
Some people speak a language they share with the group of people who have a similar lifestyle, occupation or interest. They use code words, anacronyms and phrases that only those within the group understand. Living in a military town, for example, I often hear a phrase like “he’s with the 82nd Airborne Division”, which to us civilians means???? Being married to an accountant wife means that having a tax conversation with her involves me knowing certain form numbers such as “W4 and W2”. We tend to indoctrinate ourselves with the language and culture of the people we hang around, work with, and from whom we learn.
Here is a short, random list of examples of people who speak a separate language. Feel free to add your own.
Accountants
Military
Physicians
Teachers
Christians
Pastors
Sports fans
Musicians
Techies
Cooks
Here is the reason this issue matters to us. It is perfectly okay and perhaps even necessary to have the language within a defined group of people. It expedites the process and builds commonality and loyalty, but if we are not careful, we will alienate people outside our “group” who do not understand our language. If we want to help people understand who Christ is and what He means to us, then we have to realize that not everyone understands what it means to be “growing in the Lord”.
What phrases can you think of that Christians (or other groups) use that would be hard to understand outside the “group”?
