Communication – Part 1
It would seem that one of the great problems of the human race is the inability to communicate with one another. Many problems have come because of this. This lack of communication is another result of SIN.
When it comes to communication and developing our communication skills there are four things we need to keep in mind, and in this chapter I want to cover them. What are they?
1. Talking
There are several Scripture verses for this in Proverbs.
Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”
Proverbs 21:23 “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”
Proverbs 29:20 “Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Talking is one of the components in communication, but we see that it is surrounded by parameters like the above Scripture verses. How many times have we ‘put our foot in our mouth’ and afterwards wished that we had kept our mouth shut.
2. Listening
Proverbs 18:13 “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.”
James 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Someone said that when God gave us two ears and one mouth He has given us a visual aid of what is most important in communication. However, for some of us it seems to be the other way around and we have one ear and two mouths.
Sometimes it seems that we have a brain in second gear, but a mouth that is running in high gear. We would probably be a better partner if we were deaf and dumb.
3. Understanding
This is another component in communication that we often forget. Do we really understand what others are saying? We hear the words, but do we understand what is being said?
So often we assume that our wife, husband, children or whoever is thinking a particular thing, but how do we know? In these different components of communication we see that each one is a little harder.
It is easy to talk. Most of us have no problem with this, but when it comes to listening that is another story. That is harder and when it comes to understanding this takes even more effort. Most of the time we do not want to invest the time and effort to really come to an understanding of what someone might be trying to communicate.
4. Desire This another component in communication. Sometimes the problem is not the inability to understand, but the desire is not there to take the time and effort to understand what is being communicated to us.
Francis of Assisi said: “That I might seek to understand more than to be understood.” What a statement! We all want to be understood, don’t we? But are we ready to take the time, energy, etc. to actually understand others?
In developing relationships the art of communication is a great must. We must work on these four components since none of this happens automatically. It takes work. Might God help us to be better communicators!