Always Considering the Other


1 Corinthians 14:13-19
13Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

I haven’t heard it as much today, but 25 years ago, the idea was going around that if you did not speak in tongues, you were not saved. I don’t know if that is still being taught in some church bodies. I certainly hope not. That idea is not supported anywhere in Scripture. But neither is it taught that tongues no longer exist. Paul is very clear about the fact that he practices it in his personal devotional life with frequency. So again, we think about the place this gift has in the life of the Church.

Clearly, without someone present who can interpret what is being said, tongues serve no worthy purpose in the life of the Church, for no one is being encouraged or built up except the speaker. That alone would relegate this gift to the private prayer closet. Paul suggests asking the Holy Spirit for a different / additional gift to share with the church. And that’s an idea I can honestly say I’ve never contemplated; asking for a Spiritual Gift. All these years I have simply embraced the gifts the Spirit has chosen for me and not really asked for anything additional. (Well, I did ask for the gift of tongues years and years ago – that’s another story altogether.) When taking a “gifts inventory” I always rank high in teaching and knowledge and way below any usable standard in mercy. My ability to be kind when someone is not doing well is nonexistent. Nurses have all of my respect because they are a merciful bunch and I envy that. Until today, it has never occurred to me to ask for mercy.

The bottom line of this passage is that we are to ask for and use the gifts that serve the purpose for which they are given; the building up of the Body of Christ. If you are using them for anything else (such as showing off your great spirituality) then you are using them incorrectly. Just because you look impressive doesn’t mean that you are. As F.W. Robertson says, “It is better to be useful than brilliant.”

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