One thing that I love about my life abroad @ Handong is the depth of spiritual devotion that I find in nearly all my students and faculty colleagues. There are represented here a wide variety of faith traditions within the Church -- the Body of Christ. Such diversity is, without a doubt, a strength of our university community.
With diversity, though, comes the potential for an unbalanced, over-emphasis on certain dimensions of spiritual life and experience. I have recently become even more aware of this likelihood, and my heart is burdened by the possible harm that out-of-balanced teaching and practices may cause, especially in the lives of young people whose hearts are seeking after God and desiring to experience his presence and power in authentic ways.
This, however, is not the first time such a concern has arisen in my mind. Early on in my walk with other believers, I encountered several brothers and sisters who taught that the only way to "know" that you were blessed and empowered by God to live a life following after Christ was to have a special spiritual experience where you spoke audibly in the hearing of others with ecstatic utterances -- what these teachers called "unknown tongues" -- that is, not an actual human language that one had not previously learned, but rather a series of sounds emanating from your mouth that they claimed were an evidence of God's presence and work through your physical body.
After first encountering this teaching, I asked my spiritual mentor to help me understand whether this was a pathway of spirituality that I should pursue. As a wise mentor and guide, he pointed me to the Scriptures, and in particular to First Corinthians, chapters 12, 13 and 14. He said this was the portion of the New Testament that spoke most directly to the exercise of spiritual gifts, including what the Bible calls the "gift of tongues."
He explained that the Apostle Paul was actually answering questions in this passage that had been previously raised by the believers at the church in Corinth. Paul's main point in response, my mentor said, was to remind the Corinthians that all of the gifts of the Spirit of God were given so that followers of Christ might be enabled to build-up and strengthen others. Their purpose is not individual benefit, but rather the benefit of the whole body.
He also stressed that whatever spiritual gift I may think God has given me that gift must always be exercised out of a heart of love for others. He taught me that this is the main point of Chapter 13. Speaking in tongues, whether they be the languages of men or of angels, is worthless unless it is an expression of love to others. He then went on to show me that love is demonstrated when we speak in such a way that others who hear us understand what we are saying.
If I speak aloud in the hearing of others in a way that they do not understand, I am not loving them. I am not edifying them. Only when the unknown language is interpreted and others then understand the message is there any potential for their benefit -- their edification. My mentor also taught me that some Christians practice speaking in tongues as a private prayer language when they are alone.
He noted that there was even a mention of this type of private "prayer language" practice in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 2, where Paul describes the one who is "speaking to God and not to men." Such a private practice of tongues, when not in the hearing of others, is consistent with the overall point of the instruction that Paul is giving in this passage, however, it is a practice that focuses the believer's attention inward rather than outward toward others.
In contrast to private expressions, in the cases where audible words or sounds are spoken in the hearing of others, my spiritual mentor said, those words and sounds should either be directly understood by the ones hearing them (that is, they should be spoken in a known, common, human language) or they should be interpreted immediately so that all may understand and benefit. (See 1 Corinthians 14:26-33).
The aim of all audible expression among gatherings of believers should be mutual edification and common blessing. In fact, Paul also warns that if this practice is not followed, then unbelievers who might happen to come in to the gathering would be confused and think that those speaking in expressions that are not understandable are out of their minds. (1 Corinthians 14:23). As followers of Christ, we are charged to pursue the well-being of others before our own individual spirituality. "So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church." (1 Corinthians 12:12)
At the conclusion of this passage, Paul reiterates the importance of doing all things that can be seen and heard by others in ways that will build them up. He evens uses a proportional argument to show how important it is to speak in an understandable manner whenever what we say can be heard by others. Five words that can be understood -- spoken with "my mind" -- are more important than speaking 10,000 words in uninterpreted and unknowable expressions.
The proper balance is struck when we pray and sing with both our spirit and our mind. (1 Corinthians 14:15). If we truly desire to be loving others as Christ loved us, then we should pursue practices that build others up with the clear and understandable proclamation of God's Word. Let us press on to maturity as we seek to live our lives for others, even as Christ so lived for us!
Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. (1 Corinthians 14:19-20)
