Ok, So I was reading a post on a forum talking about how one guy had been praying for tongues* for a long time and had really wanted the gift for a long time but it seems to me that some churches (and Christians) seem to have a huge thing about this whole ’speak in tongues thing’ and I think it’s overrated or at least over-emphasised.
To start I want to say that I don’t believe this gift is useless (though at certain times I fail to see the point) I believe that like all gifts God has a purpose for them and the bible says that God only gives good gifts to his children so it’s a good thing!
The first time tongues appears properly in the bible to the best of my knowledge is Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fills the disciples and they run out speaking in tongues and all the visitors hear their own language being spoken by these guys who couldn’t possibly know how to speak that language!
So the main purpose of tongues was to enpower people to allow them to preach to people in a different language which is a pretty good idea, nice one God!
However churches & Christians seem to take this to another level, to the level where speaking in tongues isn’t just about converting others (and sometimes to the extreme where if you don’t speak in tongues you’re not a Christian). So I thought I’d look into this…
At the end of Mark there is a chunk which sounds like a very brief summary to the book which isn’t found in most the reliable manuscripts so is commonly thought to have been added later because Mark had such an abrupt ending, in this Jesus says ‘they will speak in new tongues‘, now I quote this not because I doubt that Jesus knows about tongues or wants them to know but because this particular verse doesn’t talk about the reason behind the gift, admitidly the same passage also talks about picking up deadly snakes and drinking poisen with no reason but still I think this is the verse which churches use to back-up the speaking in tongues of the average person for the second use…
The second use of tongues, which I aim to explore is that of the use of personal help, the idea that speaking in tongues allows you to pray to God with his own words, words that God gives you, and therefore it makes you’re relationship with God much better. Now Jesus tells the disciples that a helper will come to them (aka the Holy Spirit) and help them to pray etc. etc. But I wonder if Jesus means that the Holy Spirit will help them to pray by them speaking in tongues or if he just meant the Holy Spirit will move us into prayer, motivate us and get us off our arse to actually do some praying! But who knows?
Now 1 Corinthians 12 explores the different gifts of the Holy Spirit including tongues, the interpretation of tongues, healing, administration etc. And firstly relates gifts to a body and says ‘If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’ etc, and then talks about spiritual gifts, many people suggest (and I agree) that this part is talking about the gifts, saying that not everyone speaks in tongues (other than the ultra-holy-tongue-speaking-holy-of-holies himself and his band of merry men). So not everyone will speak in tongues! The passage also says to desire the greater gifts, now no offence to anyone who greatly desires tongues but why? It strikes me that the gift of speaking in tongues personally is almost a selfish gift to desire (selfish being the wrong word), but all the other gifts seem to help the church or people, healing does, prophecy does, interpreting tongues does, speaking in other language does’ but speaking in tongues on your own to God or in a group where no-one is going to interpret seems like it’s just there to make you feel good about God because you have this radical thing happening which proves to you that God is real.
Yes I know that’s cynical but I fail to see why tongues is so desired, sure it’s not a bad thing to get closer to God and tongues seems to do that but at the same time it doesn’t seem to benefit the church other than helping them sound ultra-holy if after a song people can mutter weird words for a while!
So that’s all well and good but Paul says to ‘desire the greater gifts‘, he later says
‘ I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.’
So there he hints that there is tongues that aren’t interpreted but at the same time he tells us what the greater gifts are and I’m with him on this one.
The final passage which I’m going to refer to is 1 Corinthians 14 which says several things the first ‘For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to men but to God’ which actually backs up the theory of tongues being a personal thing between men and God (so perhaps this entire blog is wrong but I’m exploring as a type).
Every so often you find a ultra Holy Christian who because they have the gift of tongues (St. Shaun pbuh for example (apologies if you don’t get the joke)) they must speak them all the time wherever they are, be that on the bus, at the bowling ally or on the kareoke to the tune of daydream believer, however Paul says this
‘Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.’
Paul goes on to say that anyone who speaks in tongues should pray that they would be able to interpret what they say, even Paul acknowledges that tongues, if used wrong can be completely useless and even harming to people.
If you have read this and are wondering what on earth I was on about I guess the bottom line is this, I think tongues is overrated, I think there is way to much emphasis on it and it seems to be the gift that for some unknown reason everyone wants, we have a God of almighty power, one who has empowered us through the Holy Spirit and his Son Jesus Christ to go into the world and change it, to be able to heal in the name of Jesus, to even be able to raise the dead can we stop boxing the Holy Spirit into just speaking in tongues, or even mainly speaking in tongues, there is more healing in the bible that speaking in tongues and more outcasting of demons than speaking in tongues. God has quite a lot of power, let’s stop having such small faith that we box it in and don’t desire anything other than speaking in tongues, let’s eagerly desire the greater gifts.
*Tongues is a spiritual gift from God allowing the recipiant to speak in a different language, in the bible the disciples did this and people around heard the gospel in their own language, but it can also be just to personally pray to God when you don’t know the words.
