The Language of Vocabulary vs the Language of Meaning

'WONDERFUL'

'LOVE'

'RICHES'

'HEALING'

'GOD'

'SIN'

'FORGIVENESS'

All these words have something in common.....

I have just finished reading a post on Jackson Wu's excellent blog, about whether or not it is right or best to say in evangelism that 'God has a wonderful plan for your life'.  You can read his post by clicking here.  And I would encourage you to do so.

But I thought I would post on this blog, the comment that I put on Jackson Wu's blogpost as it is highly relevant to the research and writing that we are doing on honour/shame.....

Great Post and a topic that needs MUCH more significant consideration.

I think this is all about assumptions and care with terminology - some of the basics in effective communication of any sort. In so many areas of evangelism and discipleship we fail to be aware of possible mis-understanding of words. We make so many assumptions, and we neglect to ensure that the hearer has understood the meaning we intended with clarity and accuracy.  

This is a much bigger problem than just 'wonderful plan for your life'.  When we say "God loves you" - we have to ask what the person listening understands 'love' to be.  If we don't clarify and correct any mis-understandings, that person will interpret our words in the light of the meaning they apply to those words whether that meaning be correct or incorrect.  The words 'God has a wonderful plan for your life' and 'God is love' are not incorrect if understood with biblical meaning. God's idea of 'wonderful' and 'blessing' are not our idea.  His thoughts are far above ours but we so often neglect to communicate that in our effort to (wrongly) make the gospel simply 'attractive'.  Words such as 'success' and 'prosperity' and 'riches' that are used in Scripture are used in certain contexts with much wider meaning than material 'stuff' and 'money'.  Healing in Scripture is used in more than the physical sense. When an evangelical asks a Roman Catholic if they have 'received Christ', a Roman Catholic will say 'yes' as they understand they 'receive Christ' in the wafer at the Mass'. The trouble is, in our evangelism and discipling new Christians, we so often fail to stop and think that the hearer is most probably not putting a biblical meaning to the words we speak. They will be putting their own meaning from their own religious, cultural and personal experiences. We may both, in a sense, be speaking the same language in vocabulary but we are speaking vastly different languages in meanings!

This extends to even the basics of the gospel message.  We need to understand the way the hearer will understand words such as 'God', 'sin', 'forgiveness', etc.  

This of course is so relevant to the honor/shame context as well as other cross-cultural contexts.  'Sin' (ie doing wrong) in honor/shame contexts for example is interpreted as bringing shame before people. 'God' in the context we work in is understood as the 'highest ancestor, uninterested and detached and uninvolved in humanity'. 'Forgiveness' is understood solely in the context of restoring relationships with no taking into account the actual 'breach of law/guilt' or need to confess that which brought about the damage to relationship. If we simply say "God wants to forgive your sin" - what is the hearer understanding?

When we add this to what I believe has been a 'half-gospel' that has been presented which, as you rightly pointed out, has not emphasised the cost involved in following Christ - what it means to be willing to deny self and cease seeking honor from people to do what God requires and we have failed to do - to honor Him above all else, we are going to have all kinds of problems. There will be problems in the church and with 'Christians' who don't see a need to confess sin but just want everyone to love each other and enjoy happy relationships, but also see God as failing to live up to what He promised when they don't get rich and don't cease having difficulties in their earthly relationships.

To complicate matters further, when reaching honor/shame emphasis cultures - in particular the one we work in, the hearer is not about to tell you that they don't understand something or that they are confused about what is being said, as that will seem to bring shame on themselves (since they don't understand) and/or shame on the person speaking (for not explaining themselves clearly or putting that person in a position of not knowing an answer to something).  So it is even more difficult to ascertain that a person is mis-understanding.  Yet this just highlights the even greater need for us to make every effort to better understand the context in which the gospel message is being heard so that we ensure it is heard the way it is meant to be heard...otherwise actually that person remains 'unreached' with the gospel.

Ah, yes, Jackson, you have highlighted a VERY important and rarely spoken about issue indeed!!

....We soooo much need to remember that we need to have our minds renewed with the truth - and the truth includes getting God's definitions on words so that we get God's meaning into our hearts. It's only then that we can expect God's intended transformation of lives.  We need to learn to think differently and we need to help others to see the need to think differently.  If we don't, they will continue to remain in the bondage of their wrong understandings.

We may not think of it this way, but this need to have one's thinking change is a 'battle zone'. Wrong thinking about Shame/Honour has far reaching impact into all corners of a person's life and can keep them away from the freedom in Christ that God longs for them to have. I have a quote from a sermon by John MacArthur  where he commented on 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 which I will leave with you (unfortunately I didn't write down the exact details of the source at the time so I can't give you the link) ..." So what is spiritual war, it is the smashing of ideas that have become the fortifications in which people live, which become their prisons and end up their tomb."