Keion Henderson - Language Barrier

I want to use the subject of language barriers today. Let us pray: Spirit of the living God, fall fresh upon us. Eternal Spirit, it is once again that I come asking for Your divine power to preach-not to entertain, but to proclaim that Thou art the Christ. Use me today; order my steps in Your Word, great God that You are. Speak and heal; lead in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Not too long ago, after landing from a flight, like most people who have graduated from the age of renting cars, I caught an Uber. When the Uber arrived, it was the car that matched the description in my app. I looked in the window, and the driver matched the description of the avatar in the app. I got in the car; it was clean and even had Armor All on the floor mats-it was immaculate. Somehow, he must have known that I had just finished listening to old school music because when I got in, Ron Isley was right on the radio. The scent in the car was perfect, and if you’ve ever been in an Uber, you understand that that isn’t always the case. He had bottles of water in the doors, mint in the cup holder, gum, mouthwash, and hand sanitizer. I mean, it was one of the best Ubers I had ever encountered. To add more to it, he even had a light show inside the Uber; LED lights were flickering between magenta, royal blue, white, and purple. It was an awesome display.

After assessing the moment and figuring that everything was perfect, I noticed that every time I tried to compliment the driver or ask him a question, I received no answer. He would look in the rearview mirror at me but would say nothing in response. I remember very vividly that even when he came to open the door for me, we almost ran into each other. I said, «Excuse me,» and «I’m sorry,» but he didn’t respond to that. So, despite the ambiance being perfect, I have to admit that I was taken aback a little and was wondering how such a nice car could be driven by such a rude man. He didn’t respond to anything I said; he looked at me as if I were some scum from the bottom of the earth. He never responded, and I began to think that there was something going on here. Because I had been in uncomfortable situations before, I was on guard the entire time. I started to wonder what kind of day he was having, who the person in the car before me was, and what was his experience with African Americans. Did he think I was some sort of gang member? After all, I did have a hoodie on. I didn’t get in the car with my Bible and collar, and I didn’t have anything that suggested I was a minister. He saw me, and I thought, «Well, am I being profiled? Is this just another one of those things that African American males are going through in our country today?» After several encounters with him, I labeled him disrespectful; I labeled him as someone who was doing the wrong job.

Have you ever come in contact with someone in the service industry and expected more from them, only to find they didn’t deliver? Had you already decided in your mind that this person didn 't know what they were doing, that they were on the wrong job, that if they didn’t want to come to work today, they should have stayed at home? If they didn 't like to serve people, then they shouldn’t be in the service industry? Have you ever experienced a moment like that? Because if you have, I want you to take all of that memory and place it in this moment for me. This is exactly where I was.

After I labeled him disrespectful and uncouth, it wasn’t until he needed something from me that I recognized the totality of the circumstance. We had gotten to the place where the building was in the script, and he didn’t know whether it was the building on the left side of the street or the right side. He turned around and attempted to ask me which building it was. I did not recognize that the entire time he was not answering me, and every time I spoke to him, he would not respond. I labeled it as disrespect, but I later found out it was a lack of understanding. He didn’t speak English, and it wasn’t one of those situations where he knew 10 to 15 English words. No, when I say he didn’t speak English, I mean I was probably the first person he ever heard speaking English; it was that far from east to west. He had no idea what I was talking about. I learned that it was not a misunderstanding, but a lack of understanding. The entire time, I thought that he and I were having a misunderstanding, and I thought, «You know what? If it gets serious, it’s going to be me and him-and mostly me.» I had already prepared myself to defend my position; I had already put all my words together, you know how it is when you’re preparing for an exit-you want to have a phrase that makes people remember you. I recognized at that moment that it wasn 't a misunderstanding; it was a lack of understanding.