What’s wrong with kids these days? I’m sure you’ve heard that said about you when you were a kid, but more fresh in your memory, I bet you’ve heard that said about this generation. I have worked with students for near a decade now, and I will be the first to tell you that this generation has potential. They have more potential than everyone gives them credit for, and they can handle more than everyone thinks they can. Yet, I will also be quick to tell of some of the deficits of this coming generation. After all, without understanding weaknesses one will never know the places that need strengthening. One glaring area of weakness in this coming generation, of which my generation (the Millennials) has also fallen victim to, is a lack of interpersonal communication skills.
Technology, with all of its benefits, with its connectivity to the entire world, has left a generation less connected than ever before. FaceTime is traded for actual face time. 140 characters has become the maximum attention span for the communicator and listener alike. Texts, emails, and voicemails would rather be sent than actually talking to an actual person. The need for true communication has been replaced with the desire for expediency and ease. A generation is losing what it means to truly communicate.
So what? Times change. We have to change with the times. Why does it matter?
Interpersonal communication matters because you cannot be fully obedient to Jesus without it.
Here is a quick look at 6 biblical proofs of the need for interpersonal communication.
1. Proclamation of the Gospel
- Romans 10 tells us that no one can be saved apart from hearing (vs. 17) and beautiful are the feet of those who “proclaim” the good news (vs. 15).
- In order to lead someone to faith in Jesus, interpersonal communication is essential.
2. Personal Accountability
- James 5:16 says to “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
- One cannot be held accountable for their actions apart from interpersonal communication. Also, people are more likely to fall into patterns of sin without communicating their struggles.
3. Praising God
- Psalm 96:3 says to “declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”
- God can be praised internally and personally, but His glory demands proclamation.
4. Defense of the Faith
- 1 Peter 3:15 says to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
- Apologetics is intrinsically communicative. Standing for Truth requires interpersonal communication and interpersonal communication skills. The verse above even throws in some of those skills, “with gentleness and respect”!
5. Fellowship and Community
- Acts 2:44 and 4:32 show us that the early church “were together and had all things in common,” and that included being of “one heart and soul.”
- The early church shows us the need to be intricately involved in the lives of other believers. The church cannot be of one heart and soul while barely speaking to each other and without getting to know each other’s true heart.
6. Less Self-Centeredness
- Philippians 2:3 says that we are to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than [our]selves.”
- When we truly communicate, we care. When we do not seek to listen, we are saying that our opinions are more important than yours.
I think it is pretty clear from the Bible that interpersonal communication is an absolute necessity. I would like to sum this up with Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:18-20
“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
Jesus likens what comes out of one’s mouth with the depravations of murder, adultery, sexual sin, theft, etc. We all know that words can kill, and what comes out of one’s mouth is, according to Jesus, an accurate indication of the heart of that person. If that is true, I think we can confidently say the contrary is true as well. What does not come out of the mouth proceeds from the heart. The lack of interpersonal communication of this generation shows the true nature of what this culture is breeding, self-centered me-ism.
A lack of interpersonal communication is completely contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to pour out His life for the sake of others, not seeking His own comfort. He beckons we do the same.
It starts with our hearts. It must come out of our mouths. Face to face.
The Gospel merits communication. The world needs communication. We must communicate.