Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. Reflect:

1 Corinthians 14: 1-5

With social media, text messages and email it may appear that our communication skills have never been better. I don’t think so. Can 144 characters really express a complex idea? Would you read this email if the content was the length of a research paper? 

While we may communicate more often, I am not sure that we communicate as effectively.  A face-to-face encounter or telephone call or handwritten letter like the one delivered by Paul has a much better chance of being interpreted correctly.

As Paul begins the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, his concern is expressed concerning the clarity of the message proclaimed in the local church.  From his words, we can see that the church was preoccupied with the prominence of the spiritual gift of tongues during their worship service.  

Paul was more concerned about the lack of useful communication and used a couple of examples.  If the sound of a bugle when used in battle calls is not distinctive, it is useless.  If a flute or harp is played with random notes, it also is meaningless.  In the same way, Paul goes on to say that “in church, I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue”(1 Corinthians 14: 19). 

Many use this passage to discount the gift of tongues to some degree, but it is apparent throughout the passage that Paul has a very high view of tongues and he contends that he speaks in tongues more than anyone in the Corinthian church. Still, his primary concern is for the strengthening of the local church and he encourages the people to “strive to excel in building up the church” (1 Corinthians 14:12).

How does your view compare to that of Paul’s?