A Different Conversation

I wonder how much time we waste talking jive to each other. What constitutes “jive”? In the strictest sense, it is anything that is not reflective of God’s will. If that is too constricting, then “jive” is anything that blocks the building of positive relationships. For example, spreading gossip about someone can be considered “jive” because it tears down trust instead of affirming it. Unwanted advances can be thought of as “jive” when it is accompanied with off-hand and spiritually inappropriate comments. (There is nothing wrong with expressing an interest in someone. But it is wrong to couple that interest with degrading or demeaning suggestions.)

At work, at home, at the gym, in church, at a meeting, on a date; there are so many places that we are having jive conversations. The things we say to each other are way out of context and much of it results in poisoning our relationships. Maybe there is a reason why we spend Friday and Saturday nights alone or we wonder “Who Broke My Phone!”

Fully understanding that conversations flow both ways; we must do what we can to put our discussions back in context. Even when someone comes at us with unwanted advances, we must be mindful of our end of the discussion. Because of our status as Christian singles, we must be the ones to start to have a different conversation.

People can say some mean things at times, but we need to let the Spirit guide the conversation in a different direction. Sometimes we are vulnerable to that special someone who whispers sweet nothings in our ears, but is that the kind of dialog that God wants us to have? Words can hurt, so we should be careful to make sure that what we say is positive and therapeutic. We need to stop using words as weapons of mass destruction just because someone words of hate in our path.

Children of God have a heavy responsibility to steer the flow of words in a different, more spiritual direction. There are some things that children of God should not say to anyone, because everyone is a child of God! We cannot control what others say to us, but we do have the power to watch our own tongues. Instead of falling in line with all the “jive” that is out there, we need to do the world a favor and start promoting a DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.