Introduction We live at a time and age...
Introduction
We live at a time and age where communication is at the heart of everything we do. Daily we come into contact different forms of communication, which are designed to keep us in formed, and in touch with the world and all the people who are important to us. We have digital communication, wireless communication, satellite communication, and Tele communication to name a few. But we are still trying to develop a communication system that promotes healthy communication in the household.
When we are faced with poor communications in the home, what can we do to improve them?
I believe the way to have healthy communication in the household … is to learn to listen, speak the truth in love, and honor one another. (Big Idea)
I believe that there are principles in the Bible; that when we apply them to the way we listen, to the way, we speak to each other and the way we act towards each other will lead us to having healthy communication in our homes.
Learning to Listen – We all say we know how to listen; however what I am speaking about is listings to hear the other person’s heart.
We have all had conversations with others in which we really do not listen to what is being said, we are just waiting for our turn to talk. This is not listing this is just what I just said it is waiting for our turn to speak.
When I talk about learning to listen I am speaking of developing a method of listing that will help us to hear the other persons heart in the words they are saying to us. Learning to listen though the words and hear the the wonderment in our young son’s heart beat as he speaks of his day at school. Listen for the joy carried in the words of as a daughter shares with us of her making the soccer team. Listen and feel the frustration in the words of a husband or wife after a long week in the market place, or the pain of a hurting sibling who shares with us for the first time in years.
Listening involves much more than waiting our turn. In involves putting the other person first. Putting ourselves and our agendas aside reaching with all that we are to the person who is speaking to us and listing for their heart in the words they speak.
For many of us this is a difficult thing to do. We are not accustom to putting others first. We live in a society that demands us to promote our selves or be pushed aside. We live in a world where we have got to look out for number one, because if we don’t nobody else will.
However, the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians gives us a practice of behavior, which I believe when applied to our listing habits, would greatly increase our ability to hear the hearts of others as they speak to us.
Ephesians 4:1b,2 … walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
Paul here is writing to believers and giving instruction how believers are to act towards other believers. It is my beliefs that if we apply these traits to our listening skills we will truly learn to listen.
Lets look at these closely
Humility, according to Funk & Wagnall’s Dictionary, is the quality of being humble, an act of submission or of humbleness. In class the definition we received of humility was “ To bring down, to bow down.” In another of his writings Paul gives us a glimpse of what he means by humility,“…, but with humility of the mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.
Gentleness in ones’ spirit is demonstrated in calmness and meekness both in actions and thought. We can also describe gentleness as the absence of rudeness, anger, and arrogance.
Patience or longsuffering, from the Greek we get the meaning, to stand under pressure.
Showing tolerance – Open-mindedness, acceptance