1. The tongues of men

“Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning.” 

— Paulo Freire

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We met here for church on Sunday

During our short trip to Uganda, I tried picking up as much of the language as I could:

Oli otya? How are you?
Gyendi. I'm fine.
Webale nnyo! Thank you very much!
Kale. It's alright.
Jangu tugende! Let's go!

"How do you say 'love'?" I whispered to Hajjarah, who sat next to me on the church pew. She spelled it out for me: "Okwagala". As the young woman at the front read 1 John 2 in Luganda, I recognized the word for 'love' in the passage of Scripture several times.

Love. I quickly realized that this would be a prominent theme on our trip; that it'd be even more important than speaking to the locals in their native tongue. Paul once wrote, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Sharing a room with three girls and a daily schedule with eight persons left me frustrated at times. On more than one occasion, I felt anxious for my own space and agenda. In those moments, it was hard enough to feel love towards my teammates, much less the people we had come to serve.

Uncle Jonnes preached that Sunday. He took great lengths to emphasize love, pointing out that it's not optional. We are commanded to love everyone, even the people who are easy to dislike. He offered his own definition for love, explaining that rather than a warm feeling toward a person, it's "a command to be actively invested in their welfare."

Compassion is a crucial part of love, to be sure. Robert Lupton wrote, “Compassion is the reflection of the divine, the in-person reassurance that there is care in our universe.” But as Uncle Jonnes pointed out, being invested in someone's life and wellbeing supersedes the warm, fuzzy part of love.

Love is an action verb, which Jesus Christ demonstrated by giving up His entire life to save us. Thankfully, even when we can't manage to conjure up good feelings toward someone, with God's help, we can treat them well and actively have their best interests in mind.