The language we use

I was told the story of a man whose relative has come to work in the UK. This man has no English and so asked his brother for some basic vocabulary. He knows the words for 'please', 'thank you' and 'where is . . .' (toilet station,etc.).

After a few months, his brother visits him in the UK and teaches him some more words. He learns the word for fish and every day goes to the canteen where he has a job as cleaner and orders fish. This is fine but after a few weeks, the fish thing is beginning to pale a little.

The brother visits him again and teaches him some more words, one of them being 'milk'.

Keen to try the new word, the man goes to the canteen the next day and says, "Milk."

"Hot or cold," come the response. The man looks at the person behind the counter for a few second and then, knowing he's beaten, says, "Fish!"

I rather like this story because it speaks of more than vocabulary and foreign immigrants (well it does for me). It is a parallel tale of Christians with the secular world outside and the liberal/fundamentalist world around them. Seems that we can exist with very few words and yet if we do we are condemned to eat the same fare for ever. the trouble is that when we learn a new word we rarely realise that there are others than are required to define what that word will produce (in a glass or or in our church congregations).

So many people call themselves christian and manage to exist with a small vocabulary, not seeing that the word used might have variations within it. 'Church' is a good starting point. For some it is the building, for others the believers who comprise it. Some see it as Bible-believing whilst others see the Bible as a book of recommendations and an optional element. The list is endless and many of those in church have managed to build a minimum vocabulary that allows them to get by in their chosen place of worship because no one challenges them and, as long as the buzzwords, are in place the security of sameness is around them.

This has made me think about words and how they alienate or pait ourselves into a corner. A while back I should have said, "I don't care who you are but I do care about the way that you live your life!" I didn't and found myself attacked and labelled by some of those I was engaged with.

Seems to me that many of those outside have learned one of two words, 'orthodox' and 'liberal' (there are ruder varieties of same) and whenever they try out any new word quickly fall back to their original, secure, word as a safe label for themselves or an accusation for others.

How about we try to broaden our vocabulary and seek to understand what each new word, especially each new noun, means to us and to those who own them too? Might make our dialogue a little more profitable.

Pax