It's weird to listen to the way Christians talk. It's as though we feel the need to put on this facade whenever we're in religious circles. You hear a lot about the way people act happy or "good" and about the way they lift their hands during worship, but I'm not going to talk about those things. I'm going to talk about the words we use.
I find that it happens most often when we pray or when we give advice. How often have you bowed your head and closed your eyes, then felt like you were listening to another language? I'm not talking about tongues-- that's another topic. I'm talking about the words that people might use once every couple of months in everyday conversation that they manage to squeeze into every sentence of their prayers. I'm talking about storm analogies and generic, out-of-context references to scripture. We weave together all of these things into a tapestry that, when it's done, looks nothing like we do. If you're getting defensive: don't. It's nothing that I'm not guilty of, and it's not an idea that's specific to Christianity-- we try and fit in everywhere we go (for some reason). However, I feel like it's particularly noticeable in religious spheres, so that's what I'm going to spend most of my words exploring.
So that's the Christian Vernacular. The words and generic turns of phrase that Christians use around their "brothers and sisters in Christ." But let's talk about why anyone should care. It's a free country, right? Talk how you want to (talk) when you want to (talk that way)! Sure, sure. But I have some concerns. The Christian Vernacular is indicative of training that has happened over the course of our lives; it shows that much of our speech in these circles is habitual. This is... largely unavoidable, right? Religion is a very routine thing for many people. It shouldn't be. But it is. And when you let your religion become something that happens at church on Sundays, you come face to face with the real danger at work here. The real danger is not habit of speech; it's habit of thought. Water that is stagnant becomes polluted and gross. An athlete who doesn't improve can't compete. A Christian who limits himself to a weekly routine suffers a similar fate. If you aren't getting better, you're getting worse, and it's important to avoid habit of thought if we truly want to improve as students of the Bible and as followers of Christ.
"My thought isn't habitual, Calvin. Who are YOU to tell ME that just because I talk differently at church than I do at home, I'm becoming a routine Christian?" No one, of course. But that's not the only issue with the Christian Vernacular. Think of the non-believer who comes to church on Sunday and gets little to nothing out of the sermon because it's so littered with our oddities that they can hardly follow along? Think of the friend to whom you're trying to reach out who can't understand the ideas your trying to convey because your phraseology in relation to Christian topics has always been tainted by the Christian Vernacular that your friend doesn't speak? It's difficult to break from the way you do anything you've been trained your whole life to do. People don't bother to try and listen in or follow along when Jeff and I talk about Yu-Gi-Oh or Super Smash because it sounds like a foreign language to them-- we've been told this on multiple occasions. We're commanded to spread the gospel; how will we do that when even those with ears to hear trip over our exclusive language? Now, to be fair, I'm being a little ridiculous. People aren't stupid; they know what you're trying to say. However, there are important subtleties that can be lost in translation, and I think that's worth noting.
My main concern, though, is sincerity. Maybe not even sincerity, but at LEAST the appearance of sincerity. It is important both to be genuine and to appear genuine in religious spheres. However, I think that in an attempt to sound genuine, we sacrifice our sincerity, if that makes any sense. I'll try to explain. People roll up to church and want to sound like they've been they've been there before, so they use all of these classic "I can do all things" and "for God so loved the world" deals when they talk with their friends. Then, it comes time to pray, and they want to sound like they're good at praying (whatever that means), so they use all these fancy-pants words that they hear other people say when their eyes are closed. There's clearly a disconnect between the heart and the mouth there, right? And I know what you're thinking "I don't do that." But, in truth, we all do. It may not be conscious, but we do it, and I think that we would be better off if we didn't.
I think it would behoove Christians to try to marry their speech in and out of the church building. It's a good exercise to, when you're praying alone in your room, make an effort to say what you're thinking and what you want to communicate to God rather than what you've been trained to say to him. I often find myself using the same structure day after day when I'm praying, and I've found that, when I do this, I'm usually distracted or thinking about other things. This is a habit I'm trying to break. The next step is to make the same changes when you're talking to your Christian friends. It's all about intentionality-- something I've been working on lately. I don't want to tell anyone what to do, but if you feel like this is something you're struggling with, as I have been, then these are just some ideas to get you started on making some changes for the better.
That's a lot to chew on, but here is the tl;dr version:
-Christians talk funny; I call this the Christian Vernacular.
-Habits of speech often reflect habits of thought, and these are dangerous.
-People don't want to listen to a bunch of stuff they don't really understand.
-Sincerity matters.
I want to leave you guys with a challenge that I was faced with last week at InterVarsity, adapted slightly. What is one positive change that you could make in your life? What is keeping you from making that change? If you ask yourself this every day and make a genuine effort to be intentional about making those changes, imagine the person you could become.
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