I remember hearing a story about a competition between the Wind and the Sun as to who was stronger. The Wind saw a man walking down the street and challenged the Sun, saying that he could take the man’s jacket off before the Sun could. The Sun accepted the challenge. The Wind started blowing harder and harder on the man, but the harder the Wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his jacket. The Wind finally gave up and said to the Sun, “It’s your turn.” The Sun smiled and shone down on the man with great warmth, and as the Sun kept shining his warm light on the man, the man actually got so warm that he took the jacket completely off. The Sun had the victory because instead of blasting the man with a cold wind, the Sun simply did what he does best and brought great warmth to the man.
This story reminds me that I always have the choice to either be a cold blast to someone’s life or to show warmth to those around me. One way we can show warmth to others is by how we communicate. Those of us who spend the majority of our day at work with coworkers have a tremendous opportunity to show warmth to others by what we say and to be positive examples of God’s love and goodness. Depending on where we are employed, it may not always be available to speak God’s Word at the job site, but we can always show forth the abundance of God’s Word and love that we have on the inside in what we say and do. Thinking before we speak, speaking positively, and speaking to encourage unity are powerful ways to show warmth to our coworkers with our godly communication.
Who of us has not had the realization at one time or another that what was coming out of our mouths was not the best, and that we desired that we could take those words back? It’s a terrible feeling and one that we all try to avoid. This happens more often than not when we don’t take the time needed to think about what we are saying before we say it. There is a way to prevent being in this situation in the first place, and that is to do our best to think before we speak. Thinking before we speak gives us time to consider how to be clear and precise and also how to be watchful of our tone. Not only is what we say important, but also how we say it, because this contributes to the effectiveness of what we say.
Proverbs 4:26:
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
For successful communication, we want to “ponder the path” of our words. We do that by slowing down and taking the time to think about the impact of the words we speak before we speak them. It’s not always easy to do, but once we make it a habit in our conversations, we will be able to show warmth to others with our words and leave them better for having talked with us.
We can also show warmth to our coworkers by speaking positively, encouraging positive outcomes for situations. The cold negatives of the world do nothing but engender doubt, worry, and fear. Our coworkers might worry about completing a project on time or doubt that they can sufficiently accomplish a task that has been assigned to them. But we can help them dispel those negatives by the positive and encouraging words we speak. When we have God’s Word in our hearts and minds, we are confident in what God promises and are ready to share those positive, encouraging words with our coworkers.
Ephesians 4:29 [The Amplified Bible]:
Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.
Speaking positive and encouraging words with our coworkers reflects our Christian character and is a factor in our success at the workplace.
Another way to show warmth to others with the words we speak at the workplace is to speak and act in a way that encourages unity. We want to communicate in a way that promotes like-mindedness among coworkers. Some ways to do this include speaking kindly to others, avoiding gossip, and lovingly handling miscommunications, which can be very common in a busy workplace.
I Peter 3:10,11:
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
We want to help others to work together, and we want to always be aware of how our words affect others. We always have a choice with what we say. To show warmth to others with our words is a decision only we can make. As we keep the principles of godly communication in our thoughts and actions, we can be a positive influence in our workplaces.