What did they say?

We listen to words way to much and ignore the spirit by which they are said.

For example if someone was to say…

“The color is red”

What is being communicated has more to do with what their spirit is saying than it does the actual words.

If it is yelled it means one thing

If its just a kind response it’s another.

If it is said in tears it means something quite different.

To learn to listen to more than just the words that are spoken is to touch the spirit of the person who is doing the talking.

In life there are a lot of people who have the right answers. They use words to say the right things, in fact they can say them the right way with the right emotions but the thing they cannot do is hide their spirit from you when they speak.

When someone speaks their spirit is always revealed.

Now you can personally be blinded to their spirit, you can focus on their words to the point you lose the ability to ascertain what their spirit is saying, or you can just not look for that because you feel it’s too subjective but regardless if someone opens their mouth…

their spirit is always revealed.

Jesus says it this way…

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

Yes they knew what to say, they knew how to say it but their evil spirit still was evident even in the goodness of what they spoke. Because good words, the right answers, the right things can be spoken the right way with an evil spirit.

It takes looking beyond the words to the spirit driving the words to figure out what type of spirit is behind them.

Sometimes something is said that sounds mean but the spirit behind it isn’t. To look for what their spirit is saying would avoid a needless argument.

Sometimes something is said that sounds good but the spirit behind it isn’t. To look for what their spirit is communicating would avoid a potential mistake being made.

I know I do not want to have needless arguments and I know I want to avoid potential mistakes and I have a feeling you do to…

For we know man, not only by the words of his mouth, but also by the tone of his spirit.

So next time you listen to someone speak don’t allow yourself to get distracted by what they are saying.  Listen for the spirit behind what they are saying, only then will you truly know what is being communicated.