1 Corinthians 14:6-39
Today's Scripture

Paul continues his discussion on tongues in the rest of this chapter. As I read, I think about how I feel when I’m with a group of people who speak a different language. We’ve had five exchange students living in our home over the years, and whenever I’m in a gathering where students from the same country gather, they seem to speak their native language. If it’s Spanish, I can pick up on it a little bit, but anything else (besides English, of course) leaves me out in left field. We hosted one student from Bolivia, and she was always chiding her two Thai friends who lapsed into Thai when they were together. “Speak English!” she’d command them—because Thai is difficult for anyone to understand.

And if believers can’t understand uninterpreted tongues, imagine how an unbeliever would feel if he walked into a worship service where tongues were being spoken. It would be like me trying to understand Thai! But when English is spoken, the message is plain and unbelievers (who are native English speakers) can hear and understand the Word of God.

Tongues have their place in a believer’s life—Paul said that he spoke in tongues himself. But he emphasized gifts that bring others together and communicate clearly. Let’s seek to communicate the Word of God clearly to our fellow believers and unbelievers—through the power of the Holy Spirit.

- posted by Suzi @ 4:44 AM