4:76 – Let’s Have A Conversation

#faithbites #faithjourney conversation

Setting

I have fond memories of my first two years of college. Several nights were spent deep in religious and political conversation with my floormates. We all came from different religions, sects, political backgrounds, and a few from different countries. While we didn’t agree on many things, we had great conversations. We were able to learn from one another, grow, and learn where we had common ground. I miss those opportunities.

In two days, I had two conversations that went vastly different than those in college. (Insert Social Media Here). The first was on cancel culture and Pepe Le Pew. While the conversation hadn’t gotten nasty, it was heated. The owner of the post didn’t want to say something wrong or offend, so they deleted the thread. The second was about certain Grammy performances. What was striking was the conversation started to get heated and turn into accusations but then turned back. The participants remembered that they see things differently and can interpret what the others said differently or wrongly. There were apologies and growth.

Today’s Questions: How can we converse civilly with one another and grow our relationships? How does God want us to interact with one another and discuss life, the universe, and everything?

Scripture

• Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
• Colossians 4:6 – Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
• Amos 3:3 – “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?

Reflection

Having a good conversation doesn’t mean that we have to agree. We can have gracious salt-seasoned speech that is not corrupting and still not agree. God isn’t saying we have to agree on everything. Differences can make us stronger. It’s how we talk to one another that matters. The Amos verse stuck out to me and I had to read it many times to understand it. We have to agree to discuss, debate, and have common ground to be able to walk together. We don’t have to agree on all the answers to walk together. This is something that seems to be missing today. If we don’t fully agree on all the answers or details, the conversation is off.

What can we do to have the conversations I remember in my college days? How can we debate but do it with a kind heart and love?

As we close, think about these questions and what Jesus has taught us about watching our tongues and building love towards one another.

Prayer

Father God, you have instilled passion in us. You make us want to fight for what we believe is right. Sometimes we take that fight too far and lose our ability to have productive conversations. We pray that you tempered our tongues and not our spirit. Help us to have those spirited debates that move the needle in your direction without harming relationships in the process. We also pray that you forgive us when we wound someone with our words. Help us our words to be acceptable to you. In your name, Amen.