Unreadable

Confusion is easier that we know.

Around 42 years ago, after High School, I became a Christian. At this point, my entire knowledge of Christian things was extremely limited. In fact, it was pretty close to zero. I did not know because I was not raised to be a Christian, culturally, intellectually, or spiritually; I just had no contact with that world.

So when the change happened, I eventually ended up in a Baptist church that wanted to shove me into their youth group program, and I said no. This was for two reasons: one, I did not consider myself to be a “youth,” and I wanted adult teaching and education. The second was that I knew who was in that youth group; I had partied with them. SO I knew they were not serious.

In time, a person I knew bought me a bible, it was a King James bible that I quickly discovered was unreadable due to its strange language. I soon acquired from the pastor an NIV, and then the world started to open up. However, I was still struggling. Eventually, an elder asked me how I was doing in my bible reading. I told him it was better, but there was much I did not understand. He dug deeper, and then he asked, “Well, what book of the bible are you trying to read?”

“Ah, Ezekiel,” I answered.

Astonished, “Ezekiel, why would you do that. That’s like one of the hardest books to understand.”

“I did not know where to start, so I just flung it open and found a book with a cool name,” I answered.

“Why don’t you just start with something simple, easy to understand, like Proverbs?” The Elder offered, so I did.

To me, Proverbs was kind of like an instruction book, so every time it said something like seek wisdom, pray for wisdom (and it does it a lot), that’s what I would ask for. So for the first few months and perhaps a couple of years. Praying for wisdom became like a foundational thing.

Communication

Over the years, after the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I have dug deeply into many aspects of Christianity, and I have noticed a few things. Issues that are assumed, but not defined. Presumptions that are regarded as fact or cultural doctrine that’s not necessarily scriptural. Let me give you some examples. At one point, I got sucked into an online argument between Protestants and Catholics. I should have just walked away.

One Catholic guy was just hammering down his points, throwing out pointless terminology to the digital world to convince us of his point.

I stopped, thought about it for a moment, and answered back. “The problem is greater than you think. In your choice to defend your position, you are using Catholic terminology that 99% of us Protestants need to look up in a dictionary. Then you layer onto this the confusion of Papal orders, and dogma that no one outside of your world has any knowledge of. In effect, your communication becomes unreadable, so we just click away, clueless to your words.”

The Catholic world is not the only place where severe communication issues exist. Many Non-Chrismatics generally keep away from Charismatics because of communication issues. I have known several whose background includes Baptist, Lutheran, and local fundamental community churches. Common Charismatic terminology, although understood mostly on the surface, can create a blank stare in the faces of other Christians. As an example, I was speaking to one young woman and used the word “intercession.”

Having grown up in a church and sat through many sermons, this word was almost meaningless to her. Confused, her only point of reference was the concept that Jesus lived to make intercession for the saints. But still, she had no idea that prayer was anything beyond the Lord’s Prayer or the occasional “help me.” As a result, my words were generally alien to her mind and automatically rejected.

Other words that can trip non-Charismatics up would include biblical terms like Prophetic or Prophetic word, Apostolic mantel, soaking in the presence, Kingdom values, redeeming objects or time, as well as teaching on The Seven Spirits of God, the restoration of all things, and more. In effect, our messages become unreadable to the larger body because non-charismatics have had no ongoing exposure to such biblical wordage.

The Solution

The Solution is not to dumb things down or to be so arrogant as to say “just get up to speed.”

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22.

It is we who must adapt, change our words, even if it’s less accurate. This is the road to personal maturity that the Apostle Paul learned. To the Jews, he spoke like a Jew; to the Greeks, he did the same. To the broken by the side of the road, his actions did not change.

Basically, you interact with people at the place they are at, low, poor, or high. Jesus had no problem talking with the woman at the well in a way she could understand. Or talking with Nicodemus at his educated level.

If it takes you a hundred paragraphs to talk to God or his people, with what could be said with a few, then you need to relearn. Ecclesiastes 5:2.

Let me say something that might offend some people. If you feel the need to fill the atmosphere in a room with your words over and over again. Not only do I see this as a sign of imaturity, but a lack of trusting God as well.

Learn to REST in the fact that the words given will not return void, but will mature at the right time. What good is it to beat a person or God with your words? This is the act of letting go so that the Lord may move on things, for if you keep your fingers enclosed tightly around a subject, then where is the trust?

Our attitudes and feelings of spiritual superiority that we sometimes acquire can become like a wall of resistance to keep people away from Jesus. When walls like these are in place, the Lost, Hurt, and Lonely only continue to feel more rejected and disconnected from the source of Life that you’re dangling in front of them like a carrot.

Seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for the rebuilding of your communication skills may require walking more deeply in the gift of Compassion. This is because Compassion can break your heart and help in the process of remolding it with greater levels of Grace.

We are often (in Charismatic circles) taught to chase after certain giftings like the Prophetic. But we forget that the same author who said this also made it clear that all this is pointless without Love. Love and Compassion are interconnected, and we should spend time seeking a greater spiritual depth to such gifting so God’s efforts through us are not wasted.