Challenge Central:
Godly Communication
By: Pastor Jeremy Heikkinen
How is life today? My day started off a little earlier than normal due to the cries coming from the boys’ room. Trust me, this is not my preferred method of waking up! But it did allow me to read God’s Word while we sat together on the couch. I was reading in Colossians 4:2-6. Verse 6 caught my attention,
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (ESV).
Communication to relationships is like breathing to living. The one profoundly influences the other. The way we talk to one another has a direct bearing on the relationships we have. But Paul goes deeper than that. It is not just about “what” we say, but about “how” we say it and how we say it to each person. I will be honest. I did not want to communicate in a gracious way to my son or anyone else this morning. But this is the hope that I have, that because of Jesus I no longer have to communicate the way I used to, or would by default.
Think of this in another context. How many of us want to give the answer because we know what it is? You could fix the world’s problems if only people would listen to you and your answers. Others of us are terrified to give an answer because we are not sure we will get it right. Look at the verse again. How does it continue the sentence, “so that you may know _______ you ought to answer each person”. Many of us would like to fill in the blank with “what”. Don’t get me or Paul wrong, it is both of our desires that we grow in our understanding of the Word of God (“what”). Yet Paul continues the sentence with “how”.
Communication is just as much about the “what” as the “how” and sometimes we communicate more through how we answer than what we answer. I am glad that God put this verse in my path this morning and I hope you are too. Jesus identified that “what” fills our hearts fuels “how” we communicate (Luke 6:45). God does not want us to win the battle only to lose the war when it comes to knowing how we ought to answer each person.
How are you communicating with those in your household these days? Would others classify it as following Colossians 4:2-6?
If you would like to learn more about godly communication I suggest studying Ephesians 4:25-32.
If you are interested in learning more about the connection between what fills your heart and how that comes out I suggest joining the growth group on Saturday evenings called The Heart of Change.
