Misinterpretation

I travel a lot.  As I sit here counting on my fingers, I think have spoken to folks from more than 45 countries.  It may be quite a bit more.  As such, I have had more than 100 translators speaking at least 21 languages.  In all of that, I have some hilarious stories about being misinterpreted and hence misunderstood.  Anyone who has done this kind of thing can tell stories galore. 

 

The unusual point about it is that it doesn’t take unfamiliar languages to be misunderstood and misinterpreted.  I have spoken in English to English speakers, using common words known to all and apparently conveyed a message that was not the intended message.  I recall telling a friend at church one day, “That is a beautiful dress your wearing today.”  Apparently, that was the first time I had commented on her clothing in the five years I had known her.  As a result the message was interpreted, “Finally you are wearing something presentable.  The rest of your clothing is atrocious.”  Of course, that was not my intended message.  I just noticed the beautiful dress and was commenting on it. 

 

We could go down the road of interpretation based on insecurity, previous encounters, verbiage used differently by others and the like.   But, the plain fact of the matter is, we are often either guilty of or find ourselves victims of misinterpretation.  That was going around in Jesus’ day as well.  The crowd had misinterpreted Jesus’ gestures and comments on the temple as complicity with Romans who were committed to destroy and desecrate the temple in

Jerusalem

.  It was reminiscent of a former day when Antiochus Epiphanes the Syrian king did the same thing.  The misunderstanding (certainly among other things) led to the crucifixion.  On the day of Pentecost, the filling of the Holy Spirit and consequent tongues phenomenon was interpreted by some as evidence of binge drinking.  Hannah was similarly deemed drunk by Eli.  Paul and Barnabas healed someone as servants of God.  It was misinterpreted as an act of the gods themselves. 

 

I have never done a study on misunderstandings and misinterpretations in the Bible, but at least a dozen come to mind as I write this piece.  Well, if that kind of thing happens to the most holy among us in the most God-ordained circumstances, then I would imagine that it is inevitable among the less holy of us in the more common of circumstances.  We will never rid our world of misunderstanding.  But, I have found it a great value to do whatever I can to better explain and listen and confirm and restate the message I am conveying.  It is work.  But, the end result of gaining clarity can be the difference between life and death. 

 

I have found the following sequence to be a helpful practice.  Think how best to communicate what is of greatest value.  Then, communicate it.  Then, ask the person their thought, response or reaction.  Any misunderstanding will become plain in their initial response.  There is so much confusion about the good news that sometimes it turns out to be interpreted as bad news.  Let’s think through what makes the good news “good” to those to whom we speak. 

Comments

[Brenda]

Hi. I know the story about the dress is simply an illustration, but I have been guilty of feeling the same way as your friend did.
:). The whole piece was good...
It is so easy to misinterpret things... Thnks!