By Diana Waring
...Imagine living the first thirty-two years of your life without traveling more than thirty miles—then traveling tens of thousands of miles, to the other side of the world, to live the rest of your life!
...Imagine that you had a formal education only until you were twelve years old—then being made a university professor because you were so qualified to teach the Sanskrit and Bengali languages!
...Imagine dreaming of swash-buckling adventures as a poor, land-locked boy—then, as an adult, clearing the jungle to make room for a hut, while others fled because of man-eating tigers!
...Imagine writing a book about the call of God to Christians of all times to go throughout the world to share the Gospel—then becoming the first Englishman in modern history to answer that call!
All these, as well as other startling contrasts, were part of the story of William Carey, one of the most amazing people in all history.
William was born near Northampton, England in 1761 to a poor family of weavers. When William was six, however, his father was given the job of clerk at the Church of St. James the Great. This was an auspicious change because it meant that not only did the family have more money and a nicer home, but William could now attend the church school. One of the greatest joys to William was that he had access to many books, which fired his active imagination about geography, history, and adventure. In fact, he was given the nickname "Columbus" because he often pretended to be the great explorer of the New World! He also loved to read the newspaper accounts about Captain Cook's adventures on the Pacific Ocean, and eventually, he would utilize the discoveries Captain Cook had made as he taught others about different islands, continents, and people.
One day, in perusing some books left by his sea-faring uncle, William found one about plants that contained words in a different language. His father was able to tell that the language was Latin, but he did not understand it himself. Yet, there was an old Latin grammar on the bookshelf, so he dusted it off and gave it to William. Within a couple of months, William could not only read the book, he could also speak Latin though he had to hold conversations with himself, as no one else around spoke the language!
At the age of twelve, students at the church school had either to go on for further education or get a job. As William's parents could not afford to send him to study, he had no choice but to go to work. Since William loved working with plants and being outside, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on a farm as a laborer. However, he developed an intense, painful rash from being out in the sun—not a good sign for a budding gardener! He toughed it out for two years, but the pain was so intense that he finally had to quit. Next, he was formally apprenticed for seven years to a man who made shoes in a town eight miles away. As a fourteen-year-old, he bid his family goodbye and walked to his new dwelling and new job.
In this new surrounding, William learned not only how to make shoes, but he learned new languages as well. His boss did not mind if William had a book open above his workbench as long as the work was completed in a timely way, so he pursued the study of Greek, Hebrew, French, Italian, and Dutch!
It was not only a time to learn languages, however. It was also a time to learn a significant lesson in honesty concerning money. William was sent to collect payment from the blacksmith for a pair of shoes, and since it was Christmas time, the blacksmith offered the poor apprentice a gift of money. It was such a joy to William because the shilling he received would enable him to buy a quill pen. When he discovered that the shilling he was given was counterfeit, he made the foolish decision to trade the good shilling he received as payment for the shoes for his counterfeit shilling in order to purchase the pen. William had not realized that his boss would send the counterfeit shilling right back to the blacksmith and demand full payment for the shoes. This, of course, brought the whole story to the surface. William was revealed as the thief, but was mercifully not sent to the magistrate (which could have easily resulted in having him shipped to the West Indies as punishment!). It was one of the significant events leading William to his realization that he was a sinner, in great need of a Savior.
This was the time of the American Revolution, a time of greatly divided opinion among the people of England. Most people followed the lead of King George III in seeing the American colonists as rebels in need of defeat, while many of the townspeople in William's village believed that the need was for a new king! When King George III called for a national day of prayer on February 10, 1779, so that the entire nation would pray in the Church of England for the defeat of the Americans, William had no mind to obey this directive. Instead, he attended a Dissenter's prayer meeting, which had an entirely different motive—they were praying for the revolutionaries to win! This was William's first taste of the Dissenting Church, and he grew to love it.
In spite of the financial difficulties of being a mere apprentice, William decided to marry Dorothy Plackett, a Dissenter, when he was nineteen. In the second year of their marriage, he began preaching part-time at a Dissenting church eight miles away. The congregation was so poor; they could not even afford the leather to replace the shoes William was wearing out as he walked back and forth to serve them! Tragically, this all-encompassing poverty was largely responsible for the death of William's first-born daughter, Ann. Even more tragically, Dorothy was plunged into a deep depression, from which she never truly recovered.
William's preaching became well known throughout the area, and eventually he was offered a position as a full-time pastor and schoolmaster. Though it didn't pay any better than his shoemaking, it allowed him greater time for study. As he taught students geography in the school, he was more and more aware of the vast numbers of people around the world who had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his heart was increasingly moved by their plight. This was an unusual viewpoint for a man of his day. The majority of ministers in England believed that Jesus' command to go and preach the gospel to every creature was given solely to the twelve disciples, and that after they died, that commandment was no longer applicable. However, William studied the Scriptures intently, as well as studying Church history, and he became convinced that the command to "go" was still in effect.
As a result of his studies, William wrote a book entitled An enquiry into the obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathen in which the religious state of the different nations of the world, the success of former undertakings, and the practicability of further undertakings are considered. Long titles were more popular in that day, but this was long even by their standards! This well-researched, well-written book was the most comprehensive book on history, religion, and geography up to that time. It provided an incredible insight into the needs of unreached people and practical suggestions for reaching them.
The enthusiasm this book raised among Christians resulted in the first English missionary society, “The Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel." As the group met and prayed, the obvious question was, "Who will go?" They believed their prayers were answered when they met Dr. John Thomas, who had just returned from four years as a doctor for the East India Company in the Bengal region of India. He had become a Christian in Calcutta, and he was eager to return as a missionary to serve the urgent needs of the people there. As he shared with the missionary society, he told them that if a partner would go with him, they could accomplish far more than one man alone. William knew this was the moment he had been working toward for many years. "I will go." Despite the difficulties of a young family, a wife who struggled with depression, lack of finances, and the total unknown, William was ready to answer the call to "Go.”
After many trials, including his wife's categorical refusal to go with him (though she changed her mind just before they got on the ship!), William Carey sailed to India. Their adventures there included jumping ship upon arrival in order to avoid the East India Company, (who would never give missionaries permission to work among the native people), running out of money in Calcutta (Dr. Thomas had a habit of living high on the hog, and spent everything within weeks), being given a plot of uncleared land in a tiger-infested jungle which was their only source of food and shelter, a twenty-two day boat trip with a regular temperature of 120 degrees up an alligator-infested river and much, much more. Eventually, however, several missionary families joined the Careys in the city of Serampore, where they set up a printing press to print the Scriptures in the many languages of India.
At this point in his life, after all his experiences in language learning, in preaching, in writing, and in traveling, the design of God in this man came to fruition. His remarkable ability to use words, not only in his own language, but in every language he came into contact with, displayed one of the Eight Intelligences we have been considering in this series. The Linguistic Intelligence—being "word-smart"—is the ability to work with words. Because of this intelligence in his life, William was able to quickly learn Bengali, and with more difficulty, Sanskrit (the ancient language used in the religious writings of India). He labored to translate the New Testament into Bengali and Sanskrit, which were then printed on the mission's printing press. Having the Word of God in their own language made a huge impact on the people of that region: doors began to open, hearts began to respond and lives began to change.
William Carey baptized the first Hindu Protestant convert—a tremendously significant event, which broke "caste" and caused rioting in the city. He also translated the scriptures into 44 languages, produced grammars and dictionaries for the Indian people, founded 26 churches and 126 schools, organized India's first medical mission, savings bank, seminary, Indian girls' school and ethnic language newspaper!
At the point when the British governor-general of Calcutta, Lord Wellesley, opened Fort William College (modeled after Cambridge and Oxford), he needed someone to teach English students the languages of the local people. The one Englishman in the entire region who was qualified to do this was William Carey. However, when the position was originally offered him, Carey thought it was a joke! Imagine someone who had left school at the age of twelve teaching on the university level. Lord Wellesley convinced William that he was the man for the job, and by the Lord's grace, another door for ministry was opened.
Isn't it amazing what God's design can produce in and through a person's life? William Carey, one of the world's most accomplished linguists, gave the Bible—the Word of God—to more of the earth's inhabitants than any other man has!
Do you have a budding linguist in your home? Is there an inveterate reader, a storyteller, pun-creator, or word-lover in your midst? When you play Scrabble®, who is the hands-down winner every time? Perhaps you have a child who delights in talking the ears off a donkey! These are all indications that God has bestowed a strong linguistic intelligence in your child. Be very careful to bless and not curse this intelligence and to see the possibilities before them rather than the possibility of annoying you. When you are tempted to wish that God had given the blessing to some other family, remember William Carey's life and his amazingly fruitful ministry. Above all, recognize God's great wisdom in designing your child in just the right way for His plans and purposes.
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