Yesterday in the sermon I preached I told the congregation that I believe the church is in the language business. We are learning and teaching and striving to live a language of faith. The reason the church is in the language business is that living a life of faith is not something that comes naturally to us. The language of faith is not our primary language. It may seem that way to some, particularly those who have grown up in a church tradition and community. The reality is that for those of us who have grown up in the United States, we have a primary language that is much more focused on self. We are taught early on that our society values self-reliance, self-protection, self-reflection, self-sufficiency, self-motivation, self-made success, and self-care. Many, if not most of us, are brought up speaking the language of power, position, prestige, prosperity, competition, and survival. The language of faith is language of community over and above self, of collaboration rather than competition, and sharing over prosperity. Truly, the language of faith is a foreign language for those of us who have been reared in this country.
If only it were as simple as learning and teaching and living a language. The church universal and individual denominations are at war over the language of faith. Words matter and there is deep and meaningful disagreement over words that describe God and Jesus and theology. An example of what I am talking about is the word “salvation.” Some churches and denominations consider this word to be central to their beliefs and identity and purpose. In the United States, the churches who believe in the centrality of this word seem to interpret it as referring to individuals. Are you saved? Have you been saved? The concept of individual salvation would have been foreign to Jesus. Ironic isn’t it?
None of us should be surprised that the fight over the language of faith has shifted into the political arena. Unfortunately, it just gets far more confusing because of all of the inconsistencies and accusations. Think for a minute about what you have been hearing about self versus community. About collaboration instead of competition, about sharing over individual prosperity. Neither political party seems to have a thorough grasp of the language of faith and yet both use it when it suits a particular purpose. As one who has studied the Bible a fair amount, I am not sure either political party understands how truly radical the gospel is and how cavalierly they choose to use it for their own purposes. If the Democrats are serious about wanting to consider “the least of these” and have the community take care of it’s weakest and poorest members, they have a long way to go. President Obama’s educational policy called “Race to the Top” was the antithesis of the idea that all should have access and all should be given opportunity. If the Republicans are serious about “Family Values” and about morality, they need to examine their economic policies and read the Bible as though they were Pharisees to see what Jesus might say to them. How exactly does excluding immigrants, LGBT people, and the poor coincide with anything Jesus ever did or talked about directly?
No person and no community and no organization is perfect. My own philosophy is that I would much rather spend my time with those who know they are imperfect than with those who are trying to act as if they know all and possess the ultimate truth. At least there is hope for change and improvement. Regardless of who we are and which church (or not) we attend, we would do well to remember to watch our language. Language matters.