Dialects


            I’m pretty sure everyone is familiar with the many different dialects of English spoken in America. There is the classic Southern drawl, the east coast twang, the valley girl of the west, the Midwestern flatness (we don’t believe we have an accent) and of course Boston and Chicago have their own sounds too. When encountering a new dialect, careful listening is pretty important or there could be some major miscommunication.

            It occurs to me that Christians have their own dialect too. We are a dialect within dialects, we have our catch phrases like, “too blessed to be stressed.” We might say we are blessed when the non-Christian might say lucky. This can lead to misunderstandings too. How often do we assume that people are on the same spiritual page that we are on? Up until the last ten years or so, I truly felt that the majority of American were Christians but even the word Christian has different meanings to different people. We really need to consider the perspective of the person we are talking to when entering any conversation but this is even more important when discussing faith. Maybe you are the person that believes faith and actions are a combo platter, they go together naturally. The person you are speaking with may believe that faith is all in the believing and does not live by it. It is crucial to communication to understand this difference.

            Just as we have certain expectations of people based on our own upbringing, they have expectations of us. Do they know you are Christian by your words, by your actions, by your love? This automatically holds you to a higher standard. Do they hear you gossip or say unkind words about others? This then becomes their perspective of Christianity. I have been guilty of such behaviors and it saddens me to think I may have sent the wrong message to someone who really needed to hear the good news and see that Christianity is life changing, it is life.

 

James 3: 10- 13 “ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

 
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