of tongues

[phareztamar]

Of Tongues


For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries.


Since the birth of the church 2,000 years ago, this gift from our Lord has been abused, and even divisive. If it was controversial in Paul’s day, how much more so today? We find no discourses on how to use the gifts of exhortation, knowledge, or ruling. Yet Paul spends fully two chapters; teaching the proper use, and the proper place, for the gift of tongues. It would seem the untamable tongue of the natural, has some spiritual carry over as well.

The abuses of Paul’s day have grown teeth now; becoming entrenched in our Pentecostal traditions and gatherings. From the conference preacher, down to the local pastor, speaking in tongues from the pulpit is part of nearly every service. When the fervor…the intensity…the emotion of his message hits a peak point, the minister breaks forth in a short burst of tongues. Not for interpretation. Not for edifying the whole. Nor even for self-edification. It’s more a revving of their engines…a display of what they’re honestly feeling in the Spirit…an exclamation point to what they’re preaching. Emboldened by this platform example, the laity then takes the same liberty. The precious gift of tongues becomes a spiritual barometer, for both the individual, and the congregation as a whole.

Certainly the gift of tongues is a wonderful blessing. When we are deeply in prayer, or deep in praise…we reach a place where learned words fall miserably short. They just can’t convey the enormity of that joy and excitement welling up from within. The gift of tongues bursts through this roadblock, giving vent to the new wine stirring in our spirit. It is truly a release of praise…a release of love…a release of burden, from spirit to Spirit.

We who abuse this blessed gift, would have you think our outbursts are uncontrolled…spontaneous. We’re simply doing what the Spirit bids us to do. We even muster scripture to our defense. Quench not the spirit. Forbid not to speak with tongues. Stir up the gift of God which is in thee. It may be, that we’re a little off base here. Our own abuse of this gift, has led to the very thing that Paul had feared. Strangers not understanding what’s going on. Laity having self-indulgent sessions during a church service. We’ve even christened the practice, with our own Good Housekeeping Seal of approval. We’ve coined a term and practice found nowhere in the bible: praying through. By this, we mean to continue pressing in praise or worship, until we speak in tongues.

Across the land, the beautiful presence of the Holy Ghost begins to sweep over the congregation. Words fail to describe this awesome atmosphere. Grown, hardened men, weeping where they sit. Entire families being healed, and ministered to by the finger of God. Teens, caught in a momentary spotlight of introspection. And of course, people all over the building speaking in tongues, dancing in the spirit, and leaping for joy.

Some approach the altar uncoaxed, desperate for a need to be met in their lives. They kneel…they weep…they pray. But before long, the pray-through-posse arrives. These five well-meaning elders, begin praying around the altar seekers. They lay hands upon them, and begin to speak loudly in tongues. Somehow, louder is better. At this point, your only successful conclusion will be to speak in tongues…or pray through, as it were. Crying won’t get it honey. We’re gonna hold your hands up; and shake, rattle, and roll you all night long, until we hear you speak in tongues. Short of that, you’re either cold, carnal, or hiding sin in your heart. So you’d better come up with something. Sound familiar? Happens every Sunday and Wednesday, throughout the land.

Many brethren, when speaking in tongues, repeat the same rama-lama-bing-bong phrase every time. In and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s no different from repeating “praise the Lord”, or “amen”, or “thank you Jesus” in our native tongue. But it does present problems; both for the stranger, and for the repetitious speaker. The stranger will see it as contrived or fake, and not at all of the Spirit. He’ll deem the speaker as someone either flaunting his spirituality, or trying to prove it. Of course, had the repetitious speaker heeded Paul’s admonition, we wouldn’t have this problem. But how can he keep silent? The pastor is speaking in tongues. The pray-through-posse is speaking in tongues, and heat-scanning the crowd to see who isn’t. There’s an undercurrent of spiritual peer pressure, to prove one’s spiritual health and well being.

For the repetitious speaker in tongues, there are a couple of dangers. Primarily, he reflects a stunted growth in his spiritual gift. It’s usually the same in his native tongue. His prayers are limited to praise the Lord, Halleluiah, and a short laundry list of what he’d like Jesus to do for him. We are taught to expand our natural vocabulary, in our time of prayer and petition.

Take with you words, and turn to the Lord.

Indeed, the flowering of this gift, should be a life-long closet experience. We should seek to grow in our spiritual gift. Another danger to repeating the same phrase in tongues, is that over time, it is memorized. While this may prove handy in warding off the pray-through-posse, it can quickly become an expression of the carnal mind, and not the unction of the spirit. It is at this point, that the stranger’s suspicions are confirmed. The speaker is not being moved by the Spirit, but by peer pressure, and by spiritual pride.

These things ought not to be. Shall we call it a harmless display, or a minor infraction, just because it is Spiritual in nature? As ministers of the true gospel, we have a call to rise above our traditions, and heed the tenets of order in the church.