Speaking the Language

Two “news” stories intersected in my mind this week. It seemed important as I thought about it.

I read that Belgium’s King is abdicating his throne and his son will become King. That means the younger King will have  to embrace some problems in his Kingdom in the days ahead. Here is the issue:

The fractious nation, divided by language, holds parliamentary elections in June 2014 amid calls for even more autonomy for the language groups. After the last elections in 2010, it took a record 541 days before a government could be formed amid bickering about how much more power should be sapped from the central state to profit the separate language groups. (ABC News)

The other story is in this month’s Smithsonian magazine. In an article about the city of Houston, TX, it was stated that there are over 100 (one hundred) different languages spoken in Houston.

There was a time in America when almost everyone spoke English, or was learning to do so, and we seemed to have fewer problems like those experienced by Belgium. Now, with more than one “foreign” language (meaning something other than English) utilized in this Country, it is possible to live comfortably in the United States without ever having to learn English. (e.g. In recent years, Univision network has reached viewership parity with the U.S.’s five major English-language television networks, and as of 2012, even first place rankings for individual programs over all five English networks due to the network’s consistent schedule of new telenovelas all 52 weeks of the year.)

One would think that we might learn something from Belgium.

I have noticed that a lot of folks don’t speak the language of the Bible. Words like “born again,” “holy,” “righteous,” and my favorite, “llove,” are either scoffed, little understood, or just ignored. It’s no wonder we have problems which God never intended for mankind to have.