Can Geoff Posegate Just Stop Talking?!?

Last week I chided the 700 Club's Pat Robertson for thinking out loud too much and making insensitive and unChristian remarks. God has a good memory and a good sense of humor. God has caught my attention with an admonishment to take care of the log in my own eye before I start making judgments about the speck in another's eye. I think I wrote about this subject years ago in this blog, but now it's time for me to deal with it.

People frequently steal a glance at their watches when I start talking. It's too obvious for me to ignore. This happens with all kinds of people in all kinds of social settings. This fraction-of-a-second act includes friends, acquaintances, colleagues, church folks, and family members. I can try to spin this any way I want to, but I have to face the truth. By previous experience people know that if my mouth opens they may be in for a long haul.

Some of this may be an occupational hazard. Like all church pastors I largely make my living verbally. Let's be honest, pastoral colleagues; for all our altruistic motives, we're all in love with the sound of our own voice to some degree. Someone once said that preachers are people who take thirty minutes to say something that could be said in five.

Beyond this, though, I'm concerned that I cave-in too easily to the cultural mantra of "it's all about me!" The more I'm talking the more the focus is on me and not on another human being. The more I'm telling stories and making pronouncements, the less I'm asking questions through which I could learn about other people and the world around me. The more I'm flapping my gums the less I'm listening. Some followers of Jesus practice an economy of words as a spiritual discipline. This means saying only what needs to be said and otherwise listening, inquiring, and engaging the world which is our mission field. Reportedly, St. Frances of Assisi once said something like, "Preach Jesus. If necessary, use words."

And here I am, having written more than I need to. I need to do better. We live in an information age, but most people are bombarded with information with limited listening and caring attached. From the perspective of people who are all-in for Jesus, we can't be leading people in new life with Jesus that way.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. I'll keep my mouth shut this time.