Excerpt
Table of Contents

Introduction
Three Types of Communication
Levels of Communication
Listening
Speaking
Self-Control
Put It All Together
Epilogue
About the Author



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INTRODUCTION

Communication is the sharing of information from one person to another in such a manner that both the sender and the receiver will have exactly the same understanding of that information. It is meant to be a communion of sorts between the two resulting in an understanding on both parts with appropriate action being taken. There can’t be just speaking and listening, there must be action.

James 1:22-25, But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts--this person will be blessed in what he does.

God began the process in the Garden of Eden when He placed Adam and Eve together expecting them to communicate on a much higher level than the animals.

Genesis 2:18, Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is like him."

Adam and Eve were perfectly matched since God picked them to be together. Yet, how well did they communicate? When Eve was tempted by the Serpent, her own feelings which were totally separate from Adam’s took over. Then, when she “talked” Adam into giving in to temptation, she was going against what they both had been warned by God to do. She used her communication to sway Adam to her way of thinking. But, worst of all, she tried to sway God to her way of thinking by trying to convince Him that it was the Serpents fault.
Does that story sound like the communication pattern of many marriages today? We are constantly attempting to sway others to our way of thinking through our communication. When are we successful? When should we be successful?

Psalm 19:14, May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Isn’t that when we should be successful? Everything we say should be acceptable to God. When it is, not only will we be right with Him, but we will also be understood by others exactly the way we meant to be every time.
Don’t you wish it were that simple? It would be if we were able to be in God’s will all the time, but we know that our human nature makes that difficult. We just have to work harder at it.
Communication is important. In a marriage if there is a communication breakdown, there will soon be no marriage. Before there can be true understanding in a marriage, there must be good communication. The question is: “How do we achieve good communication?”