Tongues May Cause Drama

Acts 2:4 

"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The gift of tongues has intrigued me for 24 years now, ever since I first got saved. I became Christian at age 14. I felt inspired to read the entire New Testament. I noticed this gift of tongues a lot in Acts. I was always wondering if it was important for someone to be a Christian. I always thought, "Do I need that in order to be saved?" I was always questioning if I really was saved at the beginning. Probably a lot of people do. I don't think people need tongues to be saved. I never have fully thought that, even though I always wondered. Having tongues shows that you are extra saved, if that makes sense. It shows that your faith is solidified, that it is not built on straw but on stone. You become more cemented into your faith. 

Although, you may have noticed that there are some who seem to pray in tongues, but they don't seem to be saved at all. They don't have the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They love money more than God. That should be impossible if you truly are saved. If you see a person like that, they probably have a tongue from an evil spirit. That is why Paul said there must be an interpreter if anyone wants to speak in tongues in church. Some pray in tongues in church and it is quiet. But if people want to be incredibly loud in their tongues so that everyone can hear them, there should be an interpreter. Why? Because everyone has no idea if that tongue gift is from God or Satan. Who knows what they might be saying. Not to scare anyone, but they could be speaking curses over everyone there. 

Satan can give a tongue gift too. It is annoying that that happens, because then it gets super confusing. This is why most American pastors prefer to just avoid the subject. They don't know how to advise people. You can ask God for tongues, but if you want it to much, you might get a tongue from Satan. You can't be greedy about it. Here are some good verses about that.

Isaiah 8:19 

When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter." 

A lot of people who pray in tongues sound like this. It sounds like they chirp and mutter. Here it is tied into witches doing that. 

Jeremiah 23:16 

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord."

Jeremiah 14:14 

The Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds."

In contrast to all that, Paul did say, "I thank my God that I pray in tongues more then you all." He also said, "I wish that all people would pray in tongues." Why did he say that? It was a gift that he had that he enjoyed very much. Not everyone enjoys the gift. If you are more inclined to blending in, you will not like that gift as much. It seems a bit odd. You might want a more mainstream gift. 

It can be fun when you first get tongues. To me it reminded me when Jesus said we have to become like a child again in order to be saved. We need to be born again. Tongues sound like baby talk at first. You are learning your new prayer tongue, some would say. 

It can stir up some ridicule for you though. My ex-husband said I wasn't doing it right. I was encouraging my daughter to do it, since she was trying to copy me. He said she wasn't doing it right either and that I shouldn't allow her to do it that way. I was so annoyed by that. For 6 years he had been pressuring me to do it, and then when I finally was doing it, he didn't approve, as if he was God. That was probably the most frustrating time of my life. 

It think he was just jealous that I finally got the gift. Before he could feel special that he had it and I didn't. Then we became the same. I guess that bothered him. That is probably a big reason why we didn't make it. Religious jealousy can be very hard to deal with. You see it a lot in Charismatic churches. Watch out for competing over who is the most spiritual, or who seems to do all the right things on the outside. It is the inside that matters. We are meant to love each other, not compete with each other. 

In the Old Testament, Saul was jealous of David. So much so that he kept trying to kill him. This can be a danger to growing in your walk with God. People who are insecure will try to take you out or cut you down in some way. They can't handle it that you might be becoming more spiritual then them. 

You will be ok in the end. If one person can't handle watching you grow, just move on and find people who like seeing you grow in God. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Not that I totally encourage divorce, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Some people can't handle seeing a person who is becoming strong in God, so you have to find other people who will support you in your growing faith.