Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

Disciplines
Communications
The Christian’s mission in life, following the mission of Jesus Himself, is one of communication. From our communication with God, in His Word and prayer, we go forth to communicate with other human beings. The glory of our communion with God, if it translates into glory in our communications with others, can manifest the reality of the risen Christ and give evidence of His Kingdom. This, in turn, can pique the curiosity of others, leading some at least to ask a reason for the hope they see within us.

But this doesn’t just happen. We have to work at communications, both with God and with our neighbors.

Thom Scott-Phillips offers some helpful insights to communicating with other human beings in his article, “More than words,” in the 4 May 2016 issue of Aeon. As the title suggests, if we’re depending on words only as our primary means of communicating with others, we may not be communicating as well as we might.

Mr. Scott-Phillips explains, “Human communication is about getting other people to recognise what intentions you have with regard to their own beliefs.” That is, we communicate with others, whether to inform, persuade, entertain, or simply acknowledge, because we hope to make some impact on their beliefs – about themselves, us, the world, life, and more. Real communication happens when our meanings and intentions are understood and joined – when our communing results in common meanings and intentions.

Words alone can’t achieve such communication, because they are fraught with various meanings and can be misunderstood or misconstrued. Metaphors, images, and stories help verbal communication because they suggest pictures or narratives which can be more easily understood and entered. Communication is “an inexact art” according to Mr. Scott-Phillips, and is best accomplished through a combination of words, expressions, gestures, and so forth, all designed to “give evidence” of our meanings and intentions.

Giving evidence is the best thing to do, so we should strive always to give the best evidence if we truly hope to affect the intentions and beliefs of others. Good communication, obviously, requires thoughtfulness concerning what we want to communicate, as well as how we intend to communicate, and how by communicating we hope to affect the intentions and beliefs of others.

Mr. Scott-Phillips insists that “showing” is in many ways more convincing than telling, since it is easier to deceive or mislead by words than by what others see: “When you show me something, I can rely on the evidence of my own eyes to assess whether or not it’s true; but if, on the other hand, you just tell me, then there are several other factors I have to consider, some of which have important unknowns.” The importance of showing as well as telling highlights the kind of life we present to others, as well as the gestures and expressions that accompany our spoken communications.

Mr. Scott-Phillips points to the power of art to communicate directly to our beliefs and intentions because it uses appealing and memorable images to convey the artist’s ideas. It’s possible that art can add an element of effectiveness to our communications, but we’ll have to give some careful thought about how to do that. Art can express our own inner life – our intentions and meanings – but we’ll have to be selective about the art with which we identify and the ways we might use such art in communicating with others.

Communication is showing and telling whatever’s on our heart and mind to impact and affect the heart and mind of others. Jesus said that we should expect “rivers of living water” to flow from within us, bringing refreshment, cleansing, and nourishment to the people to whom we have been sent. John mentions that He was talking about the Spirit in this (Jn. 7.37-39), and I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds it both amazing and humbling to think that my communications might be a bridge or an avenue along which the Spirit of God travels to connect with others.

Communicating well is worth thinking about and working hard to improve. It is, after all, a primary facet of our mission in this world. We are called to be witnesses for Christ and this is both a showing and a telling way of life. Whatever your communications with others might be this day, therefore, they are certainly worth pondering in prayer, planning with care, and conducting with the charity appropriate for every opportunity (Col. 4.6).

Let us not take the art of communicating for granted; rather let us work on it as stewards whose every opportunity to communicate with others is fraught with Kingdom potential and eternal ramifications.

For reflection
1.  How conscious are you of your acts of communicating with others as bridges or avenues for the Spirit?

2.  What could you do to bring better consistency and coherence between the showing and telling components of your communications?

3.  Is your communication with God sufficiently rich and glorious to fit you for communicating Christ with others? Explain.

Next steps: How can Christians encourage and help one another to communicate God’s grace and glory more consistently and effectively? Talk with some Christian friends about this question.

Click here to download the free PDF study Seasoned with Grace, and discover ways of improving your conversation with others.

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