Talking Straight

The following is from a posting at Speed of Trust: In God's Eyes and was a huge part of a problem I walked a client through recently. Forutunately, this client was seeking not just my guidance but also God's.

What Talking Straight is (see this link and learn a bit more about the behavior Covey explains and how I'm comparing it to scripture) -


•Tellling the truth and leave the right impression
•Being honest
•Letin g people know where you stand
•Not manipulating people or distort facts
•Not spinning the truth
•Not leaving false impressions

What Talking Straight is not -

•Beating around the bush
•Spinning the truth
•Being technical and leave a false impression
•Double-talking
•Withholding information

Scripture

•Colossains 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

•Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue

Positive Profile

1 Samuel 10:3 – 12:25; While Samuel wasn’t “King,” he was the King of Communication. Samuel….

a. spoke words of revelation (back in 7:3)
b. spoke words of inspiration (10:3-6)
c. spoke words of exhortation (10:24)
d. spoke words of affirmation (10:24)
e. spoke words of information (10L25)
f. spoke words of declaration (12:20-25)

Samuel kept his message simple, knew his audience, lived what he preached and looked for a response from the people by urging them to obey God.


Negative Profile

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-6; communication was one of many ways that Adam failed by…

a. ignoring some details in the message he was supposed to communicate
b. allowed himself to be influenced more by Eve than God
c. failing to remember, or ignoring, the consequences of disobeying God
d. not taking responsibility for his communication failure

In this example the king’s hunger for power, unreasonable demands, poor decision and unwillingness to listen ultimately led to his destruction.

Listening and hearing are two separate things. While we all hear as it’s a function of our ears, listening is a willingness, even a response to hearing.

Application Points-to-Ponder

- you may be a good speaker, but are you a good communicator?
- do you pay close attention to what God is telling you?
- regardless of your temperament, skill or gifts, do you give appropriate attention to detail?
- as a leader and a follower are you clear about the message your speaking and hearing?

To that end...talk straight in such a way that you are satisfied with God's plan for your words.