Christianese
There are certain places that scare me to death. When I was a kid, it was that abandoned house
down the block that I knew was haunted. Or that crawl space
beneath our home that monsters occupied.
The thought of venturing there was not pleasant.
Even though I’ve grown up, things are similar.
While years of reality checks have alleviated my fear of monsters, today
it has transferred into new fears.
Especially computer stores. You
see, I suffer from a common ailment known as “cyberphobia” or fear of
computers. Doctors tell me it’s a mild
case and progress through increased exposure.
But for some reason, I chose to extend myself faster than
recommended.
Some time ago, I made a rare visit to a cyber-store and true to form, my
nightmare came true. The minute I walked in, I felt like every
junkie in the place spotted me. Maybe it
was my mouth hanging open as if aliens had landed. Or maybe it was the look of being
“clueless.” Either way, I felt like I
had been issued a dunce cap and ushered into the Harvard Ph.D. Program. Immediately, I gravitated to the section with
manuals. Books entitled Windows
for Idiots and DOS for the Lobotomized
fit me like a custom-made suit.
Apparently, there were other cyberphobes on the planet.
Failing to remain unnoticeable, a salesperson came over. “Can I help you?” He said. “Do you have one of the dillamabobs that make
one of those thingamagigs?” I
responded. I had heard that anything
with “gigs” sounds computerish.
Unimpressed, he said, “Is this a multi-task, 48 megabyte hard drive
system?” “Ahhhh, yeah!” trying to sound
confident. Somehow, the conversation
went south from there. I’m not sure what
I needed, and he wasn’t sure why I was allowed in the door. We never quite connected.
Christians have an indigenous language just like computer experts.
It’s called “Christianese.” Much like my computer store experience, it
can distance us from the non-Christian.
People who are unfamiliar with our faith are befuddled when we say, “Are
you washed in the blood?” “I’m redeemed,
are you?” and “God loves the lost.”
These are common language to a fellow believer but gibberish to the
unreached. As we become more aware, God
will help us to speak a language that communicates to those around us:
- Take time to listen: A deep empathy usually opens the door that we might minister to their hurts. (James 1:19)
- Offer to Pray: Prayer speaks that you care and identifies your commitment to Christ without cramming your witness down their throats. (James 5:16)
- Show kind acts unconditionally: James says, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:17) Are we any different from others?
- Communicate your faith practically: Paul attempted to be “all things to all people.”
Say something like, “In church, I heard…What do you think
about that?” Or, “I was reading my Bible
and saw…have you ever thought about that?”
One more thing. Assume they want
what you’ve got. They may not know how
to ask for it or speak the language, but they can sure identify someone who
cares.
Terry
Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright
2014 – Terry Risser
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