Communication Breakdown
After more than a year and a half of being stuck in my bedroom working from home, I’m slated to attend my first trade show since the pandemic hit starting next week. Granted, I don’t have to travel as far as I usually do (I’ll be coming home each evening since it’s only in the next city over), and I’m hoping and praying everyone takes the health and safety measures seriously so we can all have a productive event.
I was joking with my mom the other day saying, “Oh man, now I actually have to get dressed up for work each day!” I’m not going to lie – the “return to normal” has me a little down. I’m a homebody. I enjoy reading and watching TV in my free time rather than heading out for a night on the town. I think I chose the career path of a journalist because I knew deep down it would force me outside of my comfort zone. I’m not big on making small talk with strangers, but if you say you’ll pay me for it…well, that’s another story (I kid, of course)!
Nevertheless, one thing I truly enjoy about what I do is the fact I get to talk to people of all ages, genders, education levels, and ethnicities. I learn something new almost every day, and if I’m lucky, I receive emails back from sources saying they enjoyed speaking with me, too. Even with COVID-19 variants still running rampant, we are truly blessed to live in a time where, even if we can’t see each other face to face, we can communicate.
Something this unprecedented time in history has taught me is that with each person we come into contact with – whether by phone call, zoom meeting, email, text message, or in-person (masked!) conversation – we have an opportunity to let our light shine.
I don’t care who you are: This has been rough on all of us. Even God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18). While that may have been meant in a romantic sense in this particular verse, there are so many relationships we have that aren’t with a significant other. I am a sister, daughter, granddaughter, coworker, and friend. Every person you come into contact with plays a part in making you who you are, and in turn, you also make an impact on who they are.
You surely remember the children’s song “This Little Light of Mine,” right?
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
…and so on.
We are living in a dark time, and could all use a little light. Jesus said it is our duty as Christians to show who we belong to through our actions – “…Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be a part of anyone’s religion who treated me like dirt. We are given an important task here, and can’t let anything stand in the way of accomplishing our ultimate goal: Introducing more people to God’s goodness and grace.
The only way we’ll get more people to adopt an “I’ll have what they’re having” mentality is by putting aside our petty grievances and prejudices and just loving them. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with every little thing they do or believe. On the contrary, when they start to know and understand the love Jesus has for them, they should want to turn away from sin on their own. When they fully comprehend what it means to follow Jesus, there will be a time for discussing transgressions – but I believe that comes a little later in the process and should be done with the utmost care (for more on this, see our entry titled Judging Judgement).
While COVID-19 may have set us back in terms of interpersonal communication skills, love is a universal language. From social media to the grocery store, you see republicans yelling at democrats, democrats calling out Christians, Christians disagreeing with (insert any other religion here)…the list goes on. Let’s not add to the divisiveness.
The next time you’re tempted to rip into someone you disagree with, stop to think: Is that the way we’ll get them to see the error of their ways? When was the last time you changed something about yourself because someone screamed their head off at you? Even when it’s uncomfortable, even when you’re itching to smack ‘em down with the facts, remember this: “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24)
Let’s drop the vinegar and go with honey instead, shall we?
