Be Careful in WHAT We Say but Also in HOW We Say It

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
….He made us, and we are his.
….We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 NLT

Acts 15:22-35(<<click here to read the passage)

Communication is of the utmost importance in all of our lives. We can communicate in many different ways. We can communicate face-to-face or on the phone or via text and email. They all can accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

Some means communicate words but communicating tones or attitudes gets a bit trickier. For example, texting. It’s great for basic information but more subtle nuances of language are much more difficult to get across unless you’re good at putting those kinds of things into words. If we’re not careful things may be easily misconstrued by the recipient and then we have a whole new set of problems.

I’ve used email to communicate in serious conversations before. In one situation it worked well in that I didn’t have to verbalize on the fly. Doing that is not my strong suit. The way my brain works, I can’t process everything coming in and then provide a solid rebuttal for what I’m trying to put out. With email, I was able to think things through and reword where necessary to clearly get my point across before sending it out.

As we continue in Acts 15, a conclusion was reached, and a letter was sent to communicate the outcome. My Life Application Study Bible says, regarding the letter: Beautifully written, it appeals to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and explains what is to be done as though the readers already knew it.

The letter communicated the facts of the situation, but it also did so in such a way that the spirit of love, unity, compassion, and understanding was clearly communicated as well.

What drew my attention in the study notes was this statement.

Believers should be careful not only in what they say but also in how they say it. We may be correct in our content, but we can lose our audience by our tone of voice or by our attitude. (Emphasis mine)

Overall, that is applicable in many areas of our lives but especially in communicating our relationship with Christ and the way it impacts us and should impact others. The ends most certainly do not justify the means.

It’s important to get out the truth but if we do it in ways that exclude love, unity, compassion, and understanding, then we’re fighting a losing battle. Instead of drawing others to Christ, we end up driving them away.

Lord Jesus, help us to not run headlong with confrontational mindsets. May we continue to remember that You always exuded love in Your interactions with “sinners.” There was never condescension or a despising attitude when You communicated with them. You loved them, regardless of who they were or what they had done…and it showed – there was no missing it! May we think like You and act like You and may we be careful not only in what we say but also in how we say it. Amen.

May 16^th, 2022, Mon, 5:11 pm