Thursday, July 13, 2023 – 1 Corinthians 14

The gift of tongues is a strange gift. Used in a group without the gift of interpretation, it’s pretty useless. No one can understand what you’re saying. Of course, that’s no problem if you’re praying alone. In fact, that’s the point. When we pray alone in tongues, God’s Spirit reaches into the depths of our hearts and allows us to express to God things we ordinarily couldn’t or wouldn’t express to him. Speaking in tongues was a key part of the apostle Paul’s own prayer life.

But speaking in tongues in a group is another story. Without the gift of interpretation, it’s just random babbling. And that’s what was happening in the Corinthian church. During their worship services, people would just start speaking in tongues without anyone interpreting it. Guests at their services thought they were crazy! That’s because, in a group, speaking in tongues needs the gift of interpretation to be of any benefit. Likewise, the gift of interpretation is useless without the gift of tongues.

Why did God make these two gifts so obviously incomplete without each other? Perhaps God is showing us that we’re better together than when we go solo. This is actually true of all the spiritual gifts. Teaching, prophesy, leadership, healing, preaching, shepherding: most spiritual gifts make no sense unless others are there to benefit from them.

In Genesis 2, God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” From the beginning of creation, God made us for each other. Made in God’s image to do what God does, we are most alive when we serve, watch over, and help those around us. There’s an old African proverb that says, “I am because we are.” We are better together because being a Jesus-follower is a team sport!

Questions for reflection:

  1. Have you ever experienced someone speaking in tongues? What was that like? Did someone interpret what was said? If so, what did God say through them?
  2. Where do you experience following Jesus as a team sport? Where have you accomplished something together with other members of the church that you could not have done by yourself?

Bible passages for further exploration: Acts 2:1-13, Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7