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The subject of communication has been on my mind quite a bit lately. From many different areas of my life recently, the importance of communication continues to be brought to my attention. When there is a lack of communication, what happens? Assumption. People will come to their own conclusion of a situation when they do not receive the expected communication.
Kelly and I just married off our daughter, Brittany, and it was a wonderful celebration with her and her new husband. However, during the process of planning the wedding, there were some stressful times... most of which were due to a lapse in communication. This lead to individuals ASSUMING that certain things were done and taken care of. It also lead to frustration that was unnecessary... had simple things been communicated, everyone would have been on the same page, not wondering... not assuming... not incorrectly perceiving... This was something that we had to address and make sure everyone involved dealt with to make sure that the rest of the planning was less stressful :)
Another great example comes from my business. Often times I get so busy with my work that I will forget to return a phone call... forget to return an email. It could be something that would only take minutes, but if I'm not careful, I can let this slide. This of course is very bad as if I do not communicate with my clients, they will not remain my client for very long. They will ASSUME that I am not interested in providing services to them, then go and find another company that is. Unfortunately, I know this from experience. I have learned (the hard way) how important this is. Even if I have to tell the client that I am unable to provide the service in the timeframe that they would like, they are usually okay with that as long as they KNOW that I am aware and doing what I can to get the job done.
The same applies to our ministry at Church52. As part of the leadership team, Pastor Perry expects me to regularly communicate with him so he knows what I am doing, when certain tasks will be taken care of, what is going on with the people that I directly work with and lead in the music ministry, etc. If I do not do this, he will ASSUME that I am not getting the job done... that I am not handling the ministry roles that he expects me to be on top of.
I heard someone say before "love me, hate me, but don't ignore me." I think that speaks to this issue very well! Communication is something that I know I need to constantly be working on and trying to improve. It is obviously very key in my marriage, my relationship with my kids, my church and my friends.
Now, where is this MOST important?? ...in my relationship with God. I need to daily communicate with God to maintain a solid relationship with Him. How? I need to do this through prayer, worship and reading God's Word. Do I always do this to the level that I need to? No I do not. As with every Christian, this is the part of Christianity that we have to continually work at. You have to MAKE time to communicate with God. You have to make it a priority over the things in life that so easily consume our time and attention. If you do not do this, the results are the same as in my previous examples. God will assume that you don't have time for Him... that you are more interested in other THINGS in your life than Him... that you love your work, your hobbies, your time-suckers more than you love spending time with Him. Just in the same way a married couple will drift apart when time is not spent together, you and God will drift apart.
The quote above "love me, hate me, but don't ignore me" reminds me of the scripture that says God would rather you be hot or cold, not lukewarm. If you are lukewarm, he will spit you out of his mouth. God is saying to you today... "love me, hate me, but don't ignore me." He wants to spend time with you. He wants to hear you calling out His name in prayer and worship. He wants to speak into your life but He can't if you are not listening. Make time for Him today for He said that if you will draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.
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perry meade
