Huron County View

FOLLOWING SPORTS RELIGIOUSLY




Mike Wilson

Mike Wilson

Have you ever tried to learn another language? At some point in the process, you actually begin thinking in that language. When you achieve this milestone, you demonstrate that you have a pretty good grasp. Over the years, I have worked at becoming proficient in Spanish, but human languages are not the only form of language that exists. Every occupation seems to have its own unique jargon. Doctors and nurses certainly have a dialect that they use to communicate, as do police and fire fighters. Learning the vocabulary of our chosen field is part of the process of becoming proficient.

I realized the other day that I now speak fluid sports. I recognized this the other morning while sitting at a restaurant. I looked at my spoon and thought of a lacrosse stick. I went to dunk my toast in my egg and wanted to high five the waitress. I nearly got called for icing when I flipped a sugar packet all the way to the other end of the restaurant.

Sports truly has its own language, and it can be very confusing. As the late Sparky Anderson, a Hall of Fame baseball manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers, said in talking to reporters about the game of baseball. “I truly don’t know the language.” It must be very difficult for someone who attends their first athletic competition. If you want a laugh pull up Andy Griffith’s “What it was, was Football” comedy routine on YouTube and listen to him describe a country bumpkin at his first football game.

I also realized that I speak a third language. I speak church fluently. I’ve been washed in the blood of the lamb, I’ve been sanctified, justified and baptized. I wear the full armor of God, I am a prayer warrior, and I believe the Bible is God-Breathed. I can do an exegetical study of the apocryphal literature and theologically discuss dispensation of sins. Although I attended seminary, I learned most of this language while growing up in Sunday school.

Unfortunately, not everyone had an experience like mine. Can you imagine someone who has not attended Sunday school or church reading that paragraph? They would feel like they had landed in some foreign land where they didn’t understand the language. “Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me.” – 1 Corinthians 14:11 (NKJV). We risk alienating people every Sunday morning by using jargon that is not only difficult to understand, but can be overwhelming. It is important to explain ideas without sounding condescending. It is not that we intend to use unfamiliar words. We are simply comfortable with our vernacular and easily forget that not everyone around us understands.

I think that the announcers during the recent college bowl games expected to have viewers that don’t watch the games on a regular basis. I noticed they took time to explain the terms and plays in detail. This would be helpful in every field that uses specialized vocabulary. Whether you work as a doctor, plumber, mechanic or anywhere else that interacts with the general public, it is important to remember to use words that those who do not have your specialized knowledge will understand. Perhaps those of us sitting in the pews every week could learn from those announcers as well and realize that those sitting around us may not fully understand what is being said. We need to take time to get to know people sitting nearby and ensure they feel welcome. Part of this involves explaining unfamiliar vocabulary. Just something to think about.

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