Once upon a time communication entailed
Person A standing within hearing distance of Person B and speaking words. Upon
listening to those words, Person B would respond with more spoken words. Person A would then in turn respond. It was called a conversation. People would express thoughts, feelings, or
observations to a single person or group of people. This strange concept of communication resulted
in relationships forming between people.
When something rude or insulting was said, there was an immediate
reaction to the giver of the insult who would then consider his or her
words. The insulter (gasp!) realized
something rude or insulting had been said.
What therefore followed was either 1.) Guilt or 2.) More insults. Very
rarely, the guilty one even apologized.
Sometimes, the conversation evolved into arguing or physical
altercations. Then the two live human
beings would go back to whatever they were doing before the conversation
started. Assuming they were both still
breathing.
Fast forward to present day. More
often, communication now resembles this: Person A types on Facebook: I don’t like the color blue. Person B skims Person A’s
words, gets off the computer and texts Person C: Person
A doesn’t like the blue shirt Person D was wearing
today. Person C then calls Person D
and says, “Person A doesn’t
like you because you wore a blue shirt today and thinks you’re totally lame.” Person D cries all night and then tells
everyone they know what a jerk Person A is.
Person A has no idea why no one likes them. Then some random blogger tells the whole
world we aren’t allowed to say the word blue anymore because it hurt someone’s
feelings some time, some where.
Young adults, and some adults not so young, go
hours and days without physical interaction with other live human beings (but
hopefully not dead ones either). E-mail,
texting, Facebook, Twitter, smart phones, tablets, and TV all have made
passive-aggressive communication more and more prevalent. Common courtesy is often replaced by rudeness
and snide comments. Thoughts you would
never dream of speaking to another person fly right past your fingertips to the
keyboard for all the world to see. In
our evolving culture, effort has become something to be rid of, not something
to be desired. Patience and discipline
recede into the background to the sound of instantly brewing coffee and the
never ending notifications of a smartphone.
And if anything requires effort, patience, and discipline, it is the act
of holding your tongue.
Do most still try to think before
speaking, or has that been lost in translation in a world of MB and RAM? (These
abbreviations are probably becoming obsolete even as I type). Thinking before
tapping away at the keyboard seems to have dwindled even further. Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a
cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his
lips, he is deemed intelligent. (Proverbs 17:27-28 ESV), and, A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his
opinion. (Proverbs 18:2 ESV) We haven’t
just forgotten to think before we speak, but we have lost even the patience to
listen to the other half of the conversation.
It takes no discipline or
discernment to speak every fleeting thought that passes its way through the
mind. Are unfiltered comments becoming trendy?
If so, I fervently hope that we will steer clear of that particular
trend. God’s word has never been, and will never be,
trendy. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is
wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it
are many. For the gate is narrow and the
way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)
Consider your words, whether
written or spoken. Do they have a
purpose? Do they build up and give life
to the hearer?
So also the tongue is a small
member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such
a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue
is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire
course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of
reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no
human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
(James 3:2-10 ESV)
Join with me to be better. To do better.
To have our spoken and written examples be a shining light in the
darkness of a corrupt generation. To
show our children that the path to our Lord may be narrow, but not impossible. That Christians consider others before they
speak, and listen that they may gain understanding. That it takes strength and courage to confess
when we are in the wrong. LORD, may my
tongue not speak evil, but bring others always nearer to you.
