Color of Conversation - Part One

If an artist were to paint with your words, what pictures would he create?

Courtesy of Upsplash.com

Actually, we are all artists. Every day we draw, paint and sketch the forms, hues and image of our lives with the words we speak. The perfect Word of God says, “Consider your ways” (Hag 1:5). Much wisdom is gained in considering the color of our conversation in our lives, relationships and circumstances.

How Words Paint Our Lives

Everyday, we are creating the landscape, color and form of our lives by the words we speak. But as every artist knows, before there is an image there is imagination. The picture forms in the heart of the creator before it forms on paper. So our words first form in the studio of our hearts. If our hearts are cleansed holy by the crimson blood of Christ, our words will reflect that holiness. If our minds are washed by the crystal blue river of the Word, it will flood over the bank of our tongues. And if the golden sunlight of the joy of our Lord is our strength, our voices will reflect the Light - even during our most clouded day. Each day will add a stroke here, a brush here of what is pure, clean and bright.

But what if these primary aspects are missing? What if the colors become mere human passion, reason or pride rejoicing in its own sickly light? What's worse, what if the colors are employed by a black heart shaded from the true Light. The artist is now blind by the darkness and gropes about spattering colors over the canvas. Does this not picture most of our words? Flinging them thoughtless to see what sticks, giving no thought to the mess they are wreaking around us. But the disaster is not confined to our own lives alone: every relationship we have is colored by it as well.

How Words Paint Our Relationships

Countless Scriptures speak of the power of the tongue in our relationships. In fact, we could liken our relationships to subjects on the artist's canvas.

If Jesus, the Word and joy rule our hearts, the condition of our relationships will reflect this. This would be like an artist who has drawn a picture where his family and friends are featured. Each one is painted in bold, striking colors that not only accurately portray them, but even bring out the best the artist sees in them. Even those where the subject is not personally at peace, you sense the artist's goodwill towards them nonetheless.

Courtesy of Upsplash.com

But let's compare our dark-struck painter who is left to his own devices. We may dimly see there are

people in the picture, but they are pushed to the corners. The hues around them are bland and dull; the forms meshed and undefined. Chaos takes the center stage along with turmoil, strife, anger and malice.

So are the words we speak. Think back on the last disagreement you engaged in, the content of your last text or your reaction to a recent rebuke? Did they reflect the love and light of Christ? Remember, black is created by the absence of light. “Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." (John 3:19) Let's remove the blinders: what have our words done to our relationships?

Part Two, How Our Words Paint Our Circumstances, will be featured in next Tuesday's post.

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