Communication

Communication skills, except for writing or teaching, has always been a weakness of mine.  I have had a hard time keeping up with people from my past, and my family.  If you have been married for any length of time, you know how important communication is to a marriage.  Sometimes, what you say is what you mean, but your spouse thinks it's what he thinks not what you said, and visa-versa.  James has practical advice for those that have trouble with communication.   James 1:19 says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath," and 6:12 says, "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation."  The better part of communication is listening which James tells us plainly in chapter 1.  How often am I slow to speak?  Do I want my thoughts to be "out" there, to have first place in the conversation?  It takes discipline and dying to self to listen, not to speak.  

James also tells us in chapter 6:12 that we need to be plain in our communication.  Say what you mean, and don't hide behind either a false sense of being nice, or being manipulative by anything that we say trying to get people to do, think, or say what we want them to say.  We are to be real, yet tactful, sweet but truthful.  We are to approach our conversations with love, meaning we are to so trust Christ with our lives, reputations, and what others think, that we are able to listen, and when we do interject it is laced with love for the other.  That means that it isn't always compliments and sweetness, sometimes it points to sin in the other and tells the truth always, knows when to speak and when not to.  I say this with wisdom, because of all the times I have failed at communication, had to apologize, eat my words, left feeling oh so sad that I had said what I said, the way that I said it, or not said what I thought I should have.  

This is just one of those categories that draws us to Christ, making us dependent on Him, and therefore we are reminded once again that He is God, we are not, and we are only creatures called to bring Him glory.  For Him to even condescend for us is a mystery.  

Repenting once again................................Lynn