A continuous news cycle and social media has all but killed the art of conversation and debate.  Our exchanges over politics, religion, or any other subject has been reduced to a quick-witted soundbite, or meme.  If you can get the last word in and drop a mic you win.  Or so the world would have us believe.  We see it coming from our friends, co-workers, and even from our government leaders.  We’ll see more and more of it as political candidates vie for our votes in fifteen to thirty second ads.  Do we ever catch ourselves doing the same?  It’s an easy trap to fall into.

God gives us advice on how to communicate effectively.  In Ecclesiastes 4 we learn there is a time to speak and a time to be quiet. The first step is to know which of those times we’re facing.  And then, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” (Proverbs 15:1-2).  Speak rationally and gently on a subject.  And don’t talk foolishly.  It never works the way we think it will. “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9). 

So then what do we do when the other person doesn’t listen?  Jesus tells us we aren’t supposed to worry about it.  When Jesus sent out the twelve, he told them if the people they approached wouldn’t listen just to walk away and furthermore, “shake off the dust “of their house or town.  In other words, leave it behind and don’t let it dirty up your next conversation. Don’t take offense, they aren’t rejecting us, they’re rejecting Him.