Sept. 13 James 3 Ps. 19, Mark 8
“That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.” ― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things-Healthy communications are direct. Healthy communications are respectful, not bearing contempt (gottman).Somewhere we have accepted the notion that criticism is being honest but not a compliment. In other words authentic emotional content is negative. Attacking someone’s motives requires deep insight that few of us possess.Contempt shows up in jokes.
Today I was asked to speak to elders at the church records review , including how we speak.James 3, unbridled tongue is an unwise one. He does not see authentic, sincere speech as the aspiration but careful speech as words fo do have consequences.The stain of fire would seem to be its scorching or the ghastly ghostly imprint after a volcanic eruption. In other words, giving pause before we speak is wise. We have gotten to the point in national politics where we seek gotcha moments of the slip of the tongue, or some inadvertent statement and ignore carefully constructed policy positions and careful speeches.After all the mouth is used in prayer. Contempt in Gottman’s view. Little things can pile up. Little things can be seeming little things.Gottman suggestions on speech-Why does it seem so difficult to give five positive comments for every one negative one. why do we suspect a compliment as flattery? (see healthy communication notes._ Facebook is a hub for rude comments-.to use the rudder analogy, so many words shift the direction into criticism and then its resutl deffensiveness. Labels as prejudice..peak in order to further understanding the other, less than trying to win or score points.Speak for oneself-not others.
Ps 19 proclaims a different voice, the voice of the natural world, one that we cannot hear often. Greeks spoke of the music of the spheres. Sound of silence of Simon.still, it is a partial word.No humn beings have ever seen as deeply into sapce as we have. just recently we saw photos of the dwarf planet Pluto.We only knew Saturn has rings for a few hundred years, and we have seen them in detail. For me the breathtaking picture sare ones that reach to the dawn of time, and recall that light travel at around 186,000 miles per second.What is transmitted in the face of such grandeur, grand design, dare we say?
{Peter’s voice after all answers the question of Jesus. Look at what emerged as a consequence of the teaching of Jesus.. Mark 8 who do you say Jesus hears the words as inspired with Peter as the instrument.Who do you say that I am. The answers are all religious answers, but not the one Jesus is seeking.Of course we say it with words but also actions that signal what we take it to mean to live as a Christian./Jesus immediately changes the definition of Messiah (Pannenberg)
“Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.Words do matter. Yes, we can shield ourselves from their harm, just as we try to shield ourselves from physical assault. So often we try to make amends after the harm has been done-repair the relationship after a hurt has occurred Just a little prudence, a little forbearance can lessen the necessity for those needs. we deserve respect;.
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