Communication part 4
This was one of the verses that I had in mind when I started this Rant series: Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Our words can heal... but, unfortunately, they can also hurt. Look at Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Or Ecclesiastes 8:4, "Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" In other words, "Sticks and stones may break my bones by words will never hurt me," is pretty much not true. What we say with our mouths has power. Where the word of a king is--we are kings and priests equipped and empowered to rule and reign on this earth. Our words have so much power. Death and life. So we need to be careful how we use that power. We need to make sure we are being GOOD kings and priests, if I can say it that way. Using the power and authority we've been given to edify. To build people up. To bring life. One of my mom's favorite phrases is, "Speak life." And I'm with that. Because what you magnify in your life is what manifests in your life. What you feed is what will grow. What you confess is what defines your reality--as long as it's either the Word of the Lord or the lie of the world. You can't go around "confessing" that you're a millionaire and expect your bank account to fill up. But you CAN go around confessing that you are the righteousness of God in Christ and watch everything else align itself with that wonderful, glorious truth. See, communication has a lot to do with talking. Stopping the corrupt communication from coming out is a big part of that. Filling ourselves with the good. The God. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what HE is saying to us so that it comes out automatically. And that comes... by listening. By being still and knowing that HE is God. Knowing and believing that we have what we need inside of us by listening to the heartbeat of GOD'S heart in our chests. Listening to that still, small voice that says, "I love you, I love you, I love you." That's how we can give love--by knowing we have it. By receiving it and releasing it. And, I think I've been trying to say this for a while, listening to someone else doesn't just mean listening to their words. Behavior is communication. Sometimes people can't SAY what they need to communicate. So they do whatever they can to get their point across. We need to be sympathetic to that. We need to listen. And we need to communicate with more than just our words too. We need our actions to speak louder than words. We need to preach the gospel--of love--at all times. And if we absolutely have to... we should use words. Love is giving. Charity is love in ACTION. Giving everything we have and everything we are. Not letting corrupt communication out because we've only let GOD communication in! Being so full of God's love that we don't have room for anything else. That's how we truly communicate with each other. Because love will let people say what they need to say, how they need to say it. And love will respond in the best, most appropriate manner!