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The verse that comes to my mind here
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as I was thinking about what I might share
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in a practical way,
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with not only the two couples,
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but everyone else here that's married,
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is taken from Ecclesiastes 3:7.
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It says, "There is a time to be silent,
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and a time to speak."
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And I'm thinking of this in the realm
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of the necessity for communication.
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There's a time to be silent,
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and then in my application here,
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that silence is the silence of listening.
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Listening skills.
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And there's a time to speak
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which would be the communicative skills.
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There's a time for both of those
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in the necessity of communication.
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And in the Bible, the word "speak"
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is used 454 times.
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So that's a lot of communication
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advocated in the Bible.
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And in the realm of a living, vital,
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working marriage,
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communication is so important.
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You know, we can fall to silence -
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maybe as a defensive mechanism.
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We withdraw.
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But silence just builds walls, doesn't it?
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We've used those terms before, surely -
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a wall of silence?
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We don't want that.
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Sometimes silence can
be simply self-centered.
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It's about me.
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And I withdraw at other times.
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It can be defensive.
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Oh, just pulling back as a mechanism
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to defend myself in silence.
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Other times, it can actually be
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an offensive weapon.
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You know, the cold shoulder of silence.
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But when we need to speak,
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there's a positive duty
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to talk things out.
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You've got problems that
need to be addressed.
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You've got to listen.
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You've got to speak.
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You've got decisions that need to be made.
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You've got to listen.
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You've got to speak.
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You need to express needs and desires.
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You've got to communicate that.
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And yes, sometimes,
dissatisfaction's, right?
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You've got to know when
to be silent and listen,
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as well as when to speak,
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because no one's telepathic.
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We can't read minds.
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Sometimes, I think my
wife is almost there,
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where she can,
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but the reality is,
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we can't read each other's minds.
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We've got to communicate, right?
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And so that's the thought on my mind
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here this morning.
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There's a time to be silent,
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and there's a time to speak.
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And so from this day forward,
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going forward from here,
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you guys have got
to get together and talk.
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Talk about things.
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It's so vital.
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Think about this.
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It's worthwhile to note.
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With the Tower of Babel,
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all God did was break
down their communication.
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That was all He had to do.
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He changed language,
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and so now, they're no longer
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able to communicate.
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And whenever you're not
able to communicate,
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then anything constructive
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goes out the window.
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So, a time to be silent
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and a time to speak.