Sunday, January 29, 2012 - It's Not What You Said . . .

I think of two different endings for this blog title: 

"It's not what you said; it's what you didn't say," and 

"It's not what you said; it's the way you said it."

Everybody knows that when someone is acting cool and you ask that person, "What's wrong?" only to hear a cool, "Nothing," something's wrong. It's not the word "nothing," it's the way one word is said that tells everything.  It's not the word "nothing" but all that wasn't said that tells you "nothing" doesn't mean a thing. 

With the wrong spirit our words come out in half-hearted invitations, empty promises, sarcasm, and resentment. Sometimes our attitude comes out ten times as loudly as the words from our mouths, especially when we're serving God.

"God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. . . We have shown our ignorance of Him in the very way we determined to serve Him. . .  Our words sound all right, but our spirit is that of an enemy. . . The spirit of our Lord in an advocate of His is described in 1 Corinthians 13."

(My Utmost for His Highest,  Oswald Chambers)

The world will always be tough on believers because darkness shies away from or tries to quench the Light.  In this election year, as politics take up more and more of our conversations, we have the opportunity to witness, not so much through our words, but through the spirit behind the words. Being right about something comes across as self-righteous and judgmental when we forget to communicate in the spirit of Christ. 

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (telling them nothing they need to hear and never communicating Who God really is).  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (and will only impress or entertain people for a time, rather than empowering them to move their own mountains).  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing (keeping the poor from suffering on earth but not for eternity.)

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  

Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Could it be that we're not winning the world to Christ because of the lack of love in the way we express our faith? Or in the lack of love that leads to a lack of expressing anything at all?