Scripture lists many spiritual gifts, from the rarely noticed to the consistently overemphasized.
But I am fairly certain that my family and I have a “gift” not even listed in Scripture, namely the nearly supernatural ability to unwittingly get ourselves into odd and embarrassing situations.
Dana and I were recently in a lovely little town in West Virginia. I was preaching a weeklong revival and also enjoying the sights and activities of said local town.
Early one morning, my dear wife and I got up early to go in search of breakfast. We followed a rule of life I have when considering where to eat: Life is too short to go all the same places; find a local mom-and-pop place, and you will rarely be disappointed.
We drove into town and soon passed a cute-looking little place that said “Café.” I turned the trusty old Yukon around and made my way into the parking lot. It took me about 10 seconds to get out of my door and around to Dana’s to open hers. Not bad at all for a man at the advanced age of 47. And then she and I together made our way to the front door, with visions of eggs and grits dancing in our heads.
I must admit that I momentarily found it a bit odd when I tugged on the locked door and someone on the inside quickly “buzzed” us in. Perhaps this is a rough part of town, I thought, and they feel the need to take such precautions.
But then I found it odd yet again when there was a second door on the inside for us to go through.
That, though, was not the end of the story. Once that door was passed, we arrived in the dining room to find no tables present. Was this perhaps a “takeout only” kind of café?
The lady behind the counter did not seem like the waitressy type. And as she stared at us, it is clear that we did not seem like the customer type, at least not the kind of customers she was expecting.
“This is a gambling establishment,” she said dryly.
What is the word? Oh yes, I remember: “awkward.”
It did not take us long to remove ourselves from the premises. I covered my face a bit as I did, convinced that someone would be out there with a camera and that papers around the country would soon have a front-page spread with my face on it and the blaring headline: Pastor/Evangelist Caught in Sin Establishment.
All I wanted was breakfast. What I got was something else entirely.
Where I am from, café always means food. But the very same word in another place from another type of person apparently means gambling.
There is an incredible lesson to learn from all of this: Have people define their terms. The same word out of different mouths may actually mean radically different things.
Jesus, in Bible terms, is the Son of God and God the Son and the only way of salvation. Jesus in the mouth of the cults may mean a man who progressed upward into being a god, or a fine religious exemplar, or a prophet who stands somewhat equal with other prophets.
Being saved in Bible terms is turning wholeheartedly to the risen Christ by grace through faith. Being saved in the mouth of others may mean combining works with grace, or being saved by grace after all that we can do, or living such a moral life that we earn our passage into heaven.
In Job 6:25, Job said, “How forcible are right words! But what doth your arguing reprove?” Right words are those that are straight and even, as opposed to those that are twisted, mangled and made to mean very different things than what they should.
Kind of like a café that has gambling rather than grits and a Jesus that bears no resemblance to what the Bible says of him.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., a widely traveled evangelist and author of several books. Reach him by email at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.