Barriers to Communication

Over the last few weeks, I have been listening to one of the prophets as he has been going through some teachings to bring realignment to relationships. To be specific, it has been primarily the relationship between husbands and wives. While he has also been speaking on our relationship with God, money, and culture at large, it has uniquely been focused on the relationship between men and women in marriage.

A recent post he shared took a dynamic look at why some husbands might have feelings of betrayal from their wives. He cited not only the cause but also a remedy. In presenting this remedy, I noticed that one particular individual took exception to what was being said. The very thing that I assessed as the issue for this individual was the exact thing that this prophet highlighted and responded to. His response was to acknowledge that rather than receiving the wisdom that was being shared, this person had allowed the offense to be a barrier to the receiving of that wisdom.

Communication is essential to culture healers. The ability to speak, convey thoughts and ideas, and have meaningful dialog with others is necessary. When barriers like offense get in the way of communication the challenge of breaking those barriers can seem daunting. In some circles, communication is strictly viewed from a sociological, physiological, and psychological aspect. However, one cannot miss that in some respects, there can be a spiritual side to communication as there most likely was in the example presented above.

While communication barriers like perceptual differences, emotional differences, cultural differences, and prejudices can be great; offense can signal a much deeper issue at hand. It can be entirely possible that the offense could involve many of these other issues. However, offense involves experiences of the past and becomes a weight that hinders forward progression. The offense is like a callous that hardens the heart.

In the natural sense, healing callous calls for soaking, softening, moisturizing, and protecting the affected area. There are even times when cutting is required. When you think about communication and the barrier of offense, healing isn’t as literal or practical. However, there may be moments when cutting a conversation may be required so that a different approach can be taken so that what needs to be communicated can penetrate or bypass that barrier. Proverbs 15:1 says that soft answers can turn away wrath. Isaiah 1:18 says “Come let us reason together...” In that reasoning, you’re looking for a way to come to a decision or a means of convincing where possible.

We often have to seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit to truly know the best way to break through the barrier. There are even times when seeking the Holy Spirit will result in a conclusion that it is not up to you to break through that barrier but to allow the Holy Spirit to move through a process of deliverance so that the callous can be removed.

This is a year where culture healers must be willing to strive to restore the lines of communication so that dialog does not disengage into a monologue. This is a year for repairing the breach by dismantling the barrier of offense. When communication indeed occurs, there is a common union and that builds community. Let this be a year where the barriers fall.