1 Corinthians 14:6-19 (NIV)
Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Paul continues to emphasize that if the Corinthians seek any spiritual gifts at all, they should seek the gifts that edify the rest of the Church. His point here is that the gift of speaking in tongues does not do that, because no one outside the speaker understands what is being said, and a lot of the time the speakers themselves are not sure what is being said by their own mouths.
To be clear, Paul does not say anywhere that people shouldn’t speak in other languages. On the contrary, he specifically says that speaking in tongues should not be forbidden (1 Corinthians 14:39). But some in the Church in Corinth were saying that speaking in tongues was the best gift, the highest gift, the indispensable gift, and even the gift that proved that a person was saved, or mature, or filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul had already clearly stated that, as far as ranking the gifts, speaking in tongues fell far down the hierarchy (1 Corinthians 12:28), and that everyone was not given that gift any more than everyone being given the gift of miracles or healing (1 Corinthians 12:29).
Because the Corinthians had allowed themselves to descend into a culture where people in the congregation were more or less esteemed based on which gift the Holy Spirit had determined to give them, and where esteem for speaking in tongues had grown out of all sense or reason, Paul continues to emphasize that the ultimate usefulness of a gift is not in it showiness or its impressive nature, but on whether or not it builds up and edifies others. And, even though he himself spoke in tongues more than the Corinthian Christians did, he did not esteem that gift above the others, but was much more thankful for the gifts God had given him that enabled him to build up and instruct others in the ways and work of the kingdom.
Father, Paul’s message is crystal clear, and is a needed corrective for our time, too. It is easy for us to esteem either those gifts we ourselves have, or those that our congregation is in need of, to the point where that esteem can grow into a not-so-subtle idolatry, and we lose the point of the gifts in the first place: to build up the whole Church, and to enable each part of the body to perform its function with supernatural power. Thank You for every single gift You give, Lord. Help us to use them solely as You intend. Amen.