There Are No Words

Poker rooms can be quiet places. Sometimes that's what the players prefer; even writing a few comments in an online game can get you called out for talking too much. But sometimes, the players can't speak at all.

A casino in Ohio held a poker tournament this weekend for hearing-disabled players. We'd never heard of a "Deaf Poker Championship" before. But the one in Toledo had 59 players, a $1,605 top prize - and apparently some intense play, as it took nine hours to determine a winner.

As we thought about this, this idea made a lot of sense. As one dealer said at a recent tournament we entered, "Poker is a visual game." Players might "announce a raise," but in truth they don't really have to say a thing. You tap the table to check. You set chips in front of the line to bet. The dealer can move cards forward and back to show which hand is best.

Believe it or not, we've heard some ministers say hearing-impaired people cannot become real Christians. They might turn to Bible verses like this....

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. - Romans 10:17

Their logic is: if people cannot hear, how can they have faith? But we think this logic is misguided. Here's why....

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. - Psalm 119:18

Thanks to the printing press, and more recently the Internet, "wonderful things" about God can be read as well as heard. People can come to understand God's plan of salvation by carefully studying the Bible.

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. - I Timothy 4:1

That's a scary warning, but we'd like to focus on the start of that verse. The Holy Spirit says things?! Yes - not audibly, but through the written word speaking to the hearts of people seeking God.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. - Revelation 2:29

If you're paying attention when you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit of God may be "speaking" to you through its words. That's why it's good to ask God when you read for the Bible's words to be made clear - so you know exactly what God would have you do.

Come to think of it, something might be even better than having hearing-impaired people "hear" God through print. Can you guess what that might be? We'll get to it in our next post.