We're more than half way through the 21 Days to More Godly Communication now. Today I'd like to share with you a passage from Proverbs where the Lord talks about seven things that are an abomination to the Lord.
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." -Proverbs 6:16-19
Did you notice how many of them refer to our communication? Four of the seven speak directly of nonverbal or oral communication. 1. "a proud look", 2. "a lying tongue", 3. "a false witness that speaketh lies", and 4. "he that soweth discord among brethren."
More than half of these things that are detestable to the Lord are accomplished by communicating with someone or, to be more specific, by communicating badly with someone. This is significant! Many Christians don't realize just how much of our lives we spend communicating. Statistics show that 87 percent of what the average person does all day is communication related!
* An email to your Yahoo group
* A phone call to Aunt Mildred thanking her for your son's birthday gift
* A conversation with your husband about the children
* A discipline discussion with your daughter
* A talk with the sales clerk at the store because you want to return your toaster
* A chat with your daughter's doctor about her allergies
* Sharing about the Lord with a neighbor
* Writing a report for work
* Asking your boss for a raise
* Smiling at an old man from across the street
Everything we say and do and some of the things we don't say and don't do communicates something to those around us and God shares with us His lessons for our communication HUNDREDS of times in His Word! The Bible has literally hundreds and hundreds of scripture verses that tell us how (or how NOT) to communicate with others. Only a very small portion of those will I share with you during this series.
I tell you this because I learned something significant after reading the Bible through several times. God doesn't mention every subject in His Word and the Bible only dwells heavily on a miniscule list of concepts. So if He spends hundreds of verses telling us the importance of how we communicate with one another, it is probably a subject He wants us to give further attention and study...Amen?
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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer. Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication studies for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com
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