We were fortunate to revisit the Hawaiian island of Maui. We had been sent there decades ago on a business trip, but even then we were able to get away for a few hours each day, learning why they call it, “Paradise”. We found then all the descriptive words to be true; beautiful, friendly, exotic, all wedded together by the alluring accent of the folks we met. So invocative was the sound, that after we returned home I called a business we had visited just to hear their voice.

As we were on a tour during this trip, the guide brought up the subject of the Hawaiian language. He said that the spoken language itself is in danger of extinction. With so many influences from the outside, both East and West, the number of people who can actually speak the language is diminishing. There are ongoing efforts to strengthen the heritage, but since the islands are the only place the language is spoken, when the people who speak it die, there will be no where on earth to go to hear it.

Language is a barometer of the strength of a culture. If the language is being preempted by an outside force, so are the values of that culture. So it is in the culture of the Church. There is such a beautiful language in Christendom that speaks of majestic ideals. Words that not only convey a real appraisal of the human condition, but also its restoration. Words like; “sin”, “grace”, “repentance”, “faith”,”deliverance”, “salvation”, “new”. When words like these are usurped, the message they convey is diminished as well. And if this language dies out, where on earth will people go to hear it?