Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 14

Highlight Verse:

“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭14‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I don’t know about you, but I find this scene hilarious. But then, of course, no one has ever mistaken me for a god.

This was a classic case of extreme miscommunication.

Of course, Paul and Barnabas were appalled at the mistake.

As soon as they realized the issue, they did everything in their power to correct it.

I would not pretend to be expert enough to correct Paul or Barnabas, but I think we can learn something from the situation.

One thing they drilled into our brains in Bible college was to understand your audience.

If you were guest speaking at a traditional church (there were a lot more of those around back then) you should wear a suit and tie and probably not use Gen Z language.

If you were speaking to youth, jeans and T-shirt were more appropriate. And, while they wouldn’t expect you to try to use their slang, they would not understand Boomer slang.

I have a little bit of a unique cultural perspective as I was raised both white middle-class American and Chicano (Mexicans born in the US). My dad was of Mexican heritage and after he separated from my very white mom, most of his friends and his new wife and in-laws were Mexican American.

The Chicano culture had a very different way of viewing things as well as a whole different set of slang.

Then there’s language barriers. If you are called to a certain people group, it would be wise to learn their language well. Until then, it is important to have a believing translator who understands your message.

To that end, there are probably times when I owe an apology to some who read my posts. Lately, there have been many reading from China. I admit that I know none of the languages spoken there and very little of the culture.

What I write here could be misunderstood there and in some cultures.

If you read something here that you don’t understand, please feel free to ask for clarification.

When God calls us to reach out to another culture, we should do all we can to understand that culture.

Doing everything we can to keep the lines of communication clear will go a long way towards bringing the Gospel to all nations.

And it just might keep someone from mistaking you as a god.

Have you ever misunderstood someone from a different culture?
What have you done to clearly bring the Gospel across cultural and language barriers?