We often believe that people who have not been through what we have been through, have nothing of value to say to us. Afterall, they don’t understand! How can anyone help if they don’t understand?
There is truth in that. A lot of truth actually. When you cannot comprehend another person’s pain, suffering or even success, you are somewhat limited in your ability to help or communicate with them.
However, I am fully convinced that we all need IGNORANT FRIENDS. We all need people who know us but are ignorant of what we have been through. Here are some reasons you need some naive friends.
Ignorant friends will be naive about the circumstance you find yourself in, but well schooled about you. No matter what we face, how we see ourselves makes a difference to our response to what we face. Sometimes, because they don’t know or understand what we’re dealing with, they have only one thing to fall back on; their knowledge of us! They will remind you that you are strong, smart, beautiful! They will remind you of other circumstances you have over come. YOU NEED FRIENDS, WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH, BUT UNDERSTAND YOU. FRIENDS IGNORANT ENOUGH TO BOLDLY REMIND YOU OF WHO YOU ARE!
Ignorant friends will be so ignorant about your circumstance to offer “silly” ways out. Great ideas are often carved out of silly ones. Great innovatons are often birthed by people who are ignorant of the reasons why it can’t be done! You need. People whose creativity is not so blindsided by your challenge! They will carry the seed of your way out of your dilemma in the womb of their ignorance.
Ignorant friends will be more prone to trust in the Lord more than they lean on their understanding of the gravity of your situation. People who understand the gravity of your situation, are often prone to lean on their understanding. They are more prone to give more weight to what you are going through than they do to the God who is responsible for your deliverance. Sometimes you need someone who reminds you of the sovereignty of God. You need someone ignorant enough to remind you of the truth of God’s Word!
I think people who understand us and what we’ve been through are a blessing. But I encourage you to embrace the blessing of ignorant friends. God left these people in your life for at least one of the above reasons.
Christmas is a time when many of us get to interact with family members, friends and colleagues a bit more than we do all year round. Here is some helpful information about communcation that can save you a lot of arguments in this season!
James 1:19 Understand this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear a ready listener, slow to speak, slow to take offence and to get angry.
If you are honest with yourself you will find that our relationships get into trouble when we are Slow to hear; this is when they haven’t finished saying what they were saying but you have reached a conclusion in your mind. So your responses aren’t based on what they said, but based on the response you formulated before they finished speaking!
Our relationships get into trouble when we are quick to speak…you were angry so you called them fat! You know you didn’t mean it but the Words have left your mouth and you can’t take that back!
Our relationships also suffer when you get angry too quickly! We’re sometimes too prickly! Too irritable!
James is saying that we ought to be quick to hear, a ready listener, slow to speak, slow to take offence and to get angry. Just imagine the difference that will make in our relationships!
A lot of the time we don’t really listen to hear what they are saying, we listen enough to formulate our response!
A lot of the time we interrupt people because you’ve heard enough and you have also formulated your response.
Proverbs 18:13 He who answers a matter before he hears the facts—it is folly and shame to him.
How many times have we practiced foolishness based this principle?
Real communication is talking intensely & intimately.
Communication is transmitting thoughts and feeling to another. Communication requires time because communication is not complete until exactly that which is being transmitted has been received!
Communication is an exchange…what was sent must be sent back to the one who released it for communication to be complete.
It is only until we learn to be quick to hear, a ready listener, slow to speak, slow to take offence and to get angry that we will learn to communicate effectively.
Every thing good which we’ll ever need as an human being, physical, emotional, social, financial, and mentally is found in God.
The reason we experience lack is a disconnection from God, the source of provision. We experience death because of a disconnection from God who is life.
This disconnection happened in Adam. The moment he sinned in the garden of Eden, he was disconnected from the source of everything and hand to figure life out himself.
In Jesus, we are reconnected with God. But more than that, God has put, in His glory in the face of Jesus.
Glory is manifested goodness that can be attributed to God only. We had access to this glory because of our permanent connection with God, which Adam enjoyed. We lost it when Adam sinned.
Our reconnection with God through Jesus gives us a fresh opportunity to experience the glory of God. This time this glory is in the face of Jesus.
Every form of goodness we need in our life is available in the face of Jesus. It’s available when we go looking in His face. As we look in His face through prayer, through consistently looking it His Word for our life solutions we will be transformed from glory to glory.
It’s time for some Facetime. Seek His face. Affirm His presence with you. Stay in His face. The glory, goodness you need is in His face.