This is a question that is on the lips of many people in the USA, children and adults alike. It is heard in schools, on the street, and in the workplace. "Why should I learn ______ ?" Sometimes this question is voiced in frustration, sometimes in rebellion against a situation, and sometimes with legitimate curiosity. The answers to this question are numerous. They range from "I'm your teacher and your parents put you in my class" to "You need it for college" to "To get a good job" to "Foreign people are good looking" and to "In order to witness."
Although some of these are good reasons, there is only one reason here that is truly biblical. As Christians we need to ask for biblical reasons first, not the reasons that our culture gives us, even though some cultural reasons are very good. Are there any biblical reasons to study a world language?
First we must note that there are no verses in Scripture that say "Thou shalt learn another language." There are, however, biblical principles that can be applied to language learning. There are three broad categories of why to study a world language. They are as follows: to love God (Deut. 6:5), to love our neighbor (Luke 10:27), and to take care of creation (Gen. 1:26, 2:15). We will start with loving our neighbor because that one is the clearest.
Our neighbor may speak a different language than we do. This is true in many parts of the world and increasingly so here in the United States. Whatever language that neighbor speaks, it is an important language to him. It is the language that he grew up with, the language through which he sees the world, and the language through which he expresses his deepest thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. If we as Christians are going to love our neighbor, part of that might well be learning to speak his language. Think of Christ and His incarnation. Christ, the Word, the Mystery, the bodiless Creator, became Flesh. It is clear from Scripture that we as human beings cannot handle God in all his glory (see Ex. 30:23), therefore, God made Himself known, through Christ, in a way that we as humans could understand and cope with. We are to be the same.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Philipians 2:5-7).
Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, not just by dying on the cross, but just by coming to earth in human form. If this is what He did for us, so that we could understand to and relate to Him, should we not also do the same for our neighbors? The best way for a person to understand anything — be that words, thoughts, emotions, or even relationship — is for someone to speak his language. I have learned bits and pieces of numerous languages and never yet have I found someone who did not light up or who was not grateful when I tried to communicate in a way that he understood.