Do You Hear What I Hear? Part 1

Do You Hear What I Hear? (Part 1) By Rev. Frank J. Busbey, LPC

“That’s not what I said! You just don’t get it!” Ever say something like that? Or have you heard a loved one say something like this to you? Communication is an unbelievably complex and difficult process. The relationship of language, thought, speech and reality is very complex. To try bring it down to earth, every time we speak there are multiple messages. There is the message we intend to say. There is the message we actually say. And there is the message our listener hears. Add to the mix if we have more than one listener each one may hear things differently! I don’t know how many times after a sermon someone thanked me for saying something I didn’t think I had said!

No matter how carefully we try to craft our words, communication does not take place until a listener hears what we are trying to say. In the forest of relationships if the tree falls and no one hears it has NOT made a meaningful sound.

Communication is the life blood of relationships. Whether we are talking about a marriage, a parent-child relationship, a friendship or a work relationship, there has to be communication.

Even though it is incredibly difficult to convey a clear message I believe the hardest part of the communication process is listening! James 1:19 says, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;” (ESV). Much of communication is non-verbal. This requires a good listener to listen with their eyes and heart as much as with their ears!