The Plumbline

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (James 1:19 NLT) "Seek first to understand, then be understood." (Stephen Covey) Okay, who among us is quick to speak, slow to listen? Raise your hand - come on, go ahead, admit it. We can all be this way from time to time, some of us more intent on being heard than we are on hearing. As Covey indicated, we must seek first to understand - until we do, all our speaking will be in vain. They will just be words that hit the air and dissipate. The believer isn't immune to communication faux pas. We get it wrong as much as we get it right on occasion. The more we learn about how Jesus listened to people, hearing their heart, observing their actions, seeing their trust - the more he connected with them. Trust is built when we seek to understand the other person rather than imposing our thoughts and ideals upon them. The 'quick to listen' part of this instruction requires more discipline than we might...

Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29 NLT) "The two words 'information' and 'communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through." (Sydney J. Harris) We all have tried to communicate with others, only to find what we thought we were getting through to them was actually 'lost in interpretation' somewhere along the way. They come away feeling confused, frustrated, hurt, at a loss. You thought you 'got through' only to find you added fuel to a smoldering fire or set up things for a doozie of a fight somewhere in what you were saying. Words have an impact, but God asks us to use them in such a manner so as to be helpful, encouraging, and in some way so that what is said is actually heard. I daresay that most of what we consider to be 'communicating' is nothi...