“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18, KJV)
In every interaction, there are two sides: the 'sender' and the 'receiver.'
To achieve and maintain peace, we must learn how to send graciously, and how to receive graciously. We can (and often do) err in both.
The 'sender' should know his 'recipient' well enough that he knows how to 'package' the message. There are personal distinctions and there are situational circumstances to be aware of. Like the one who leads in dancing, we must know our partner's capabilities, tendencies, etc. We should not ask too much or too little of them--we should do as much of the 'work' of communication as possible before 'sending' it. "...as much as lies within you..."
The 'recipient' should also know the 'sender' well enough to fill any gaps the sender has left unfilled, or to overlook propensities. In other words, just as we should try our best to 'send' graciously, we should also hold split-second opinions at bay and 'receive' graciously as well.
Most people have heard that communication is nowhere near 100% about the words we choose--those we should choose our words carefully as we do the work of communicating well. Our tone of voice, facial expression, body language--these can completely change how our words are received. (Side note: this is why I think emoji are so often used--having lost the acumen to send or receive *tone* effectively using only words, we needed a crutch.)
In a communication breakdown, it is rarely 100% the sender's, or 100% the receiver's fault. It's nearly always a scale. We should be quick to recognize where we jumped to conclusions (in either 'sending' or 'receiving'), or perhaps didn't account for the whole situation. Asking clarifying questions should be easy and welcomed. Effective communication is _work_ that takes both parties.
I love how the WLC on the 9th commandment (about lying, slander, bearing 'false witness') opens this up for us. We should be 'slow to receive a bad report,' and 'quick to receive a good report' ("...love hopes all things..."). As either the 'sender' or the 'receiver,' we should not slander the other in how we send or in how we receive--this can be silent 'character assassination' in how we send or how we interpret what has been sent.
https://opc.org/lc.htmlSpeaking is a gift from the God who speaks; we should be working to 'image' him in our speech as well. We are to take after him in speaking because in speaking, we show that we are 'in his image and likeness.'
#RandomThoughtsOnARainySaturday
