Proverbs 6:2 You have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.
I had the opportunity to step into some conversations quicksand this week. Those conversations we tend to avoid because of the possible arguments they can cause. I was with people I had not seen in a very long time. The topics of freedom rallies, cryptocurrency, vaccines, government tracking capabilities and other touchy things came up. With the Lord’s grace, I was able to tip-toe by these volatile topics and change the subject without stepping into the inevitable conversational quicksand these matters bring up. Col. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Sinking into the neverending quagmire of uninformed opinions and rehashed rhetoric that has become irksome to many over the last few years is now something to be graciously avoided.
Political correctness, doublespeak, and subjects that lead to conversational quicksand have become the minefield in today’s ever-increasing ideological biases that are spoken out and fought over throughout society. We can’t seem to have a calm conversation without crossing someone’s sacrosanct belief that they end up defending with a loud verbal diatribe that says we have just stepped into a dead zone of sticky and mercurial double-talk. Someone might have simply stated that they enjoy drinking their coffee black, and the resulting verbal tirade becomes a denunciation of how drinking black coffee is an act of exploitation against the coffee pickers of South America. Prov. 6:2 You have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. The coffee drinker thinks, all I said was, “I like my coffee black, how did I end up in this screaming match about coffee pickers?” These are the erratic nuances pulsating through conversations these days. The spirit of Leviathan is working overtime to confuse mankind’s ability to respectfully talk with each other.
The skill of communicating around a touchy subject will be a competence needed to get through a peaceful day. Learning to change the subject as fast as possible when noticing we are beginning to sink into a conversational dark pit is becoming an acquired skill. Many people are walking the razor’s edge, careful not to disrupt anyone’s anti-movement policy that has been taken up with full indignation. After all, we do have all of the information on all of the subjects all of the time. Ya right! Prov. 18:13 Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.
The Apostle Paul could reason and talk about complicated subjects. Paul looked for the opportunity to ingratiate himself and bring forth what he believed into the conversations of the day. He clearly stated that he was a servant of Jesus Christ, but was also able to communicate with grace his willingness to reach out to anyone looking for answers in life. Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. Paul proclaimed the good news and God supplied the words needed for the occasion.
For those who find themselves falling into a pit of – oh, oh, how did I get into this conversation? The Lord has said that He will give us the right words at the right time, which will be needed when we are being persecuted for our faith, or need wisdom for a difficult moment. Matt.10:19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. God always has the word we need for any situation, however, it will take faith to believe God speaks clearly within our hearts.
Hearing God is also an acquired skill. We need to put quality time and heart-felt zeal into hearing the Lord so that our relationship with Christ is at the forefront of our hearts and growing in maturity. How can we share what the Lord gives us if we are not familiar with communicating with Him, or used to hearing what He sounds like in our hearts? When God is guiding our thoughts and what comes out of our mouths, conversational quicksand will become a none issue, because wisdom will be the word of the day. May we all get through these temperamental times with the wisdom and grace of God on the tip of our tongues. Amen.
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