A failure to communicate

Greetings from the great folks at the Red Roof Church of Bulverde, Texas.  I’m Lee Harder, senior pastor at St. Paul, wishing you the joy of Easter resurrection glory.  Why not join us for worship this Sunday at 8:30AM or 10:45AM for celebrations of Christ in our lives.  I promise, it is worship where God’s Word IS Heard from Scripture every week.

I remember as a kid growing up in Wisconsin our family gathering around the supper table every night.  Sadly, a habit too few families practice in today’s busy, distracting world.  Every night we would engage in discussion, debate, laughter, sharing and disagreement on a myriad of subjects.  Nothing was  forbidden.  I was, along with my siblings, like kids everywhere in that there were times when I thought my parents just didn’t understand because they were too old.  Basically, they were dumb as fenceposts.  I thought that about my parents (but never said it out loud) and my kids thought that about us (and never said it out loud).  My grandchildren think that about their parents. (Ah, the curse works.)  Fortunately, children grow out of that stage some time between the ages of 25 and 30.  My kids have many years to wait yet.  (chuckle, chuckle).  Justice!

I mention this because as I reflect back on those diners, I remember they were a lot of fun (most of the time) and I learned things outside my limited box of ideas.  Those conversations got me to learn how to think for myself.  Thinking is a good thing. I fear, we don’t have that enough today!

Our families are being torn in a dozen different directions.  A sit down, family gathered together around a hot meal where people talk to one another and  actually listen to one another?  From what I see and hear  —  not happening.  How is it humanly possible to engage in thought provoking, stimulating conversation when we’re shoveling chicken nuggets or some other equally  disgusting substitute for real food lovingly prepared in that ancient process known as cooking.  I mean, come on, I’ve seen the commercials for those companies that put together meals, the right ingredients in the right amounts with step by step instructions, to prepare for people who never learned to cook.  They even teach how to cut up a potato.  Really? 

Then, on those rare occasions when the family might actually all have a schedule that allows them to come together, by accident, how can they communicate, you know TALK, when they all, mom and dad too, have their noses buried into their iPods, iPads and other devices with dancing thumbs pressing buttons?

People don’t communicate anymore.  Oh, we talk AT one another, but we don’t listen to one another.  We   seldom reason or think.  Sure, we have an opinion, but we refuse to open ourselves to the possibility that  someone else’s opinion is as viable as our own and just might be sounder, make more sense and be more right than our own.  Too many have a closed mind.  It’s my way or I’ll shut you out, shout you down, or kick you out.

We see it in politics.  We see it in religion.  We see it in almost every facet of our lives.

Like I said before, we don’t think.  Not really.  We merely regurgitate the brainwashing, the indoctrination or the self-gratifying opinion that feeds the “ME” most satisfactorily.  We’ve stopped learning how to think for ourselves and reason various ideas and concepts.  This lack of thinking and reasoning based on all aspects of a subject is dangerous.  It’s caused us to close God out from the important parts of our lives with serious consequences.
 
And those are my thoughts.  By the way, my next vlog will be about trying to re-establish communication in the lines of thinking, especially when it comes to including God in our conversations. When there are 6th graders arrested for plotting to murder classmates and teachers in a school in Tennessee we have more than enough evidence that we need to be getting back to talking about God and with God in our lives.

Have a good week.  God bless.
Pastor Lee