EXPECTING TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Proverbs
3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and
lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he
will make your paths straight.
Sometimes
our troubles in communication involve expectations we have adopted, usually
unconsciously. “We expect to be understood by other Christians and it comes as
a shock to realize that they do not understand” writes Julie Gorman, teacher at
Fuller Seminary. We expect to be understood, period, and are shocked when we
aren’t. If not shocked, at least convinced it’s the other party’s fault –
things were certainly clear when I spoke them.
But
Christians should never be shocked to be misunderstood, whether by those who
share our faith or those who do not. Misunderstanding occurs because of two realities,
both basic to the Christian understanding of creation, that as creatures we are
both fallen and finite. Being fallen means our minds are never fully
dependable; and our autonomous hearts are always attracted to whatever ideas seems to make us the center
of the universe, even though it sets us adrift to be…lost in the cosmos. If
anything, we should be shocked when someone hears us correctly. But even if we
were not fallen we would remain finite. Even if all we are and do weren’t so
badly broken we would still be severely limited. Even at the best of times we
can never comprehend everything at once, but only grasp bits and pieces, parts
and partially at that, which means we can never fully, exhaustively understand
anything.
Being
both fallen and finite, it makes more sense to expect misunderstanding, to see
clear communication as a grace, a gift as precious as it is unexpected.
Critique:
2011 Issue 2
“Hindrances to Communication” by Denis Haack, pg. 6-7.