People in this age dispense
masses of verbiage through multiple means of technology. Why then does there
seem to be so little communication? The famous line from the classic Paul
Newman movie, Cool Hand Luke, comes
to mind to summarize our current communication dysfunctions, “What we’ve got here
is a failure to communicate.” Such a failure may lead to minor
misunderstandings yielding hurt feelings or to horrendous consequences
resulting in the loss of life. One of the most tragic examples of the breakdown
in communication is seen in the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Early reports indicate that multiple sources reported to numerous authorities
including the FBI, social workers, mental health professionals, and others that
there was a dangerous situation developing as a teenager threatened to do
bodily harm to others. The communication of this information was not processed
properly and the result was catastrophic as young people were slaughtered, a
community was shattered, and national sorrow again filled our culture.
The reality is that communication is not
about technology; it is about people connecting their thoughts with another.
Communication at its most basic level involves two groups, the sender and the
receiver engaging successfully in specific responsibilities. Those
responsibilities may be summarized as clearly expressing and transmitting a
thought and carefully receiving and processing that thought. If communicating
groups or the responsibilities go awry, the communication short-circuits, the
connection is not made, and there is a “failure to communicate.”
Dr. Tim Elmore in his book Habitudes writes, “Without question, the
greatest emotional need of people today is the need to be understood. And to
understand we must listen.” Too often our culture displays massive
communication failures because no one is listening. People have become so
absorbed in their emotional antagonism toward an issue that they invest little or
no processing-energy to listen to another’s thoughts on a matter. One can be so
fixed on an opinion or position, that one becomes deaf to any other
communication. Some people act as if they are saying, “I have already made up
my mind; don’t confuse me with the facts.” This is not to say that we do not
have opinions or embrace absolutes. One can have those and still engage in hearing
what another is thinking. Such an attitude helps one appreciate how or what another
thinks, and may even sharpen one’s own perspective on a matter as Proverbs
27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Elmore
further states one needs “to seek to understand the perspective of others
before they communicate their own points… show empathy and ask good questions.
As a result, they earn the right to be heard.”
One of the areas in our culture where this
communication breakdown is seen is in our national government. We have
political parties saying they want to resolve issues yet they appear to not
listen to what another party is describing they believe is the issue. This year
a local TV news broadcast panned politicians as they sat “listening” to the
State of the Union address the president was giving to a joint session of the
United States Congress. There were multiple officials thumbing their “smart”
phones instead of being engaged listeners – regardless of their approval or
disapproval of president’s thoughts. One might assume they were tweeting a
thought they wanted to share. However, a camera zoomed upon one legislator and
they were actually playing an electronic game! People have not elected
officials to play games in government but to find potential solutions to the
challenges facing the nation. Regardless of what one thinks of a speaker, there
is merit in listening even if to better understand the specifics of what one
opposes.
The issue of listening is important in the
spiritual realm too. God chose to communicate to His creation in a variety of
ways over the centuries. The author of Hebrews indicates how intent God was in
communicating by saying, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son” (1:1-2). The biblical text records also a breakdown in
communication. The problem was not the sender, God. It was the receiver,
humanity. The Apostle Paul summarized the breakdown in Romans 1:18-23. The
truth was revealed clearly, but it was suppressed completely because people
would not listen even though “God has made it plain to them.” Failure to listen
does not excuse one from accountability. The passage indicates that humanity
listened more to their wickedness than they did to God’s message of
righteousness and grace. Refusing to listen to God’s clear communication
resulted in a human disaster.
Jesus shares a parable in Matthew 7:24-27
that indicates how important it is to listen to his words. He talks about two
men. One listened and could survive the storms that came his way (24-25). The
other did not listen and his life ended in disaster (26-27). The principle is clear;
the one who refuses to listen to God and respond to his word in obedience faces
disaster in life. That is a high price to pay for refusing to listen.
One person wisely observed, “God gave us
two ears and one mouth, thus we should listen twice as much as we talk.” Good
advice for operating in a world where we wonder, “Does anyone listen?”
