West Valley Connection 9/25

Let me begin by clarifying a comment I made last week. In last week's article I included a quote from my lovely wife, which was, "Let's move out of this stupid state! Every time you turn around you're getting taxed or fined for something! "

While the quote was accurate, the context may not have been explained sufficiently, leaving some readers with the wrong impression. Since Kathy didn't appreciate my "misrepresentation" of her remarks, I will attempt to convey her thoughts more fully.

You will recall that the occasion that precipitated my wife's angst was my being cited by local police for a second offense in less than one month. The first involved a completely unfair speeding ticket given to me and several others traveling in a line up a steep hill in Des Moines. And last week, a beautiful day on the water was interrupted by the Tacoma police, who ticketed me for expired registration of my sailboat. It was my report of this second wave of persecution that led my wife to suggest abandoning our call to this particular state.

Now to put her words in context, I need to add other comments she made on the occasion in question. She also proffered the solution that, if I wanted to stay here, I should sell all of my vehicles (cars, boats and bikes) and henceforth take the bus! Furthermore, she either commenced or concluded the tirade with the pronouncement that I was unluckiest person in the world. Now you, the reader, have a deeper appreciation for the environment in which my dear wife uttered her remark about leaving Washington State. Hopefully you will not take offense, and she will stop hassling me about quoting her words "out of context!" (Haven't I suffered enough at the hands of the police?)

There is a lesson here, which is that sharing another person's communications is a hazardous activity. For me, simply communicating my own thoughts can be pretty dangerous. I have a master's degree in communication and I could sum up the entire graduate program with this statement: communication is the responsibility of the communicator. In other words, if I am trying to tell you something and you don't understand it, it's my fault.

Think of any message you are trying to convey as a baseball. Since you're the communicator, you are the one throwing the ball. If the ball isn't caught, it's your fault. Either you threw it too hard, too high, too low, or in the wrong direction. Assuming the recipient is capable of communication; your job is to make it possible for them to "catch" the meaning of your message.

So, if you want to communicate with anyone, you must recognize what is needed for that person to receive your message. For instance, do they need you to use a different language, or do they need you to speak louder. Speaking louder won't help you communicate with a French-speaking person, and speaking Spanish won't help you communicate with me. But, if you really want to communicate with me, you will figure out what is necessary for me to understand your message - even if that requires a swift kick in place of kind words.

This is critically important for believers. Each of us is responsible for communicating Jesus with those around us. When we call ourselves "Christians," all of our words and our actions send messages about Christ. That is why I hate to see the Christian fish bumper sticker on a rudely-driven vehicle, or a Christian tee-shirt being worn by an obnoxious sports fan hollering at the referees. Like shouting Lithuanian to a group of preschoolers, our efforts to share the Gospel with our neighbors will fail if our words and deeds communicate something else.

The Apostle Paul was so concerned about this that he completely changed his lifestyle to match those he wanted to reach with the Gospel. He didn't compromise his morals or his beliefs, but he did everything he could to make sure that his neighbors could see Jesus was Lord of his life. Consider his comments in 1 Cor. 9: 20 - 23:

"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

My wife may not appreciate my attempts to communicate her thoughts to you. And she has ample reason to be annoyed if I fail to represent her accurately. Even more, Jesus has given us the awesome responsibility of representing Him to the world around us. How we communicate the Gospel may change, depending on who we are trying to reach. But, if communication is the responsibility of the communicator, it's our fault if our neighbors fail to see Jesus is Lord of our lives.