A Bird of the Air Will Carry Your Words

According to King Solomon, a bird may very well overhear your conversation and tell it to someone else. Are you ready to face this?

A scenario you have surely experienced

Imagine this scene: You have a meeting scheduled with your coworkers, and you are not excited about it. In fact, you really dislike meetings. Over the past few years you have had unpleasant discussions with your coworker, and it is clear that you do not feel the same way about each other. It is important to attend this meeting, but you feel very uneasy.

How can you prepare for this discussion in such a way that you can achieve the most favorable outcome?

You can find the answer in Ecclesiastes 10:20, written by Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 10:20 “Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report what you say.”

If I asked you about the purpose of this verse, what would you say? Is God saying that a bird of the air will carry your words to other people? Is it true that there are creatures flying in the air looking for ways to eavesdrop on us? Of course the answer is no! So what does this verse mean?

What we think about other people will show in our actions and behavior, sooner or later. Our thoughts will betray us.

Can you catch what I am trying to say? King Solomon describes that when we harbor evil thoughts toward someone (in this case, the king), a bird will be able to read your thoughts about it and tell them to the person you are thinking about.

You will not be able to hide it, even if you have tried

The reality is that you cannot hide your feelings toward someone. No matter how you try, negative feelings will always surface. It will show in your body language, your tone of speech, the way you distance yourself from the person, the way you avert your gaze, how you cross your arms while speaking with them, the cold tone in your voice, the brief messages in your emails, never being available for them, and so on. It will come out on its own.

What can you do when you meet someone you do not like?

• Think positively about them before the meeting
• Pray for them, ask God to give them peace
• Speak to yourself about the good you see in them
• Imagine the meeting going smoothly
• Visualize a friendly response from this person
• Imagine yourself communicating sincerely with this person
• Keep remembering these things just before meeting them

When you begin the conversation, your feelings toward that person will be better. You will show good nonverbal language simply because you are thinking well of them. The birds of the air will say to them, “This person wants to be in the meeting, and he is thinking well of you.”

Consider others more important

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit. Rather, in humility consider others more important than yourselves;”

In my career, I always had problems with my customers. I put this verse on my computer screen. Every time I called a customer, I would always read that verse and reflect for a few minutes on what it meant. I imagined myself speaking to them with humility.

Jesus taught the same thing about humility. How much better it is if we humble ourselves. When we think badly of others, we will look down on them. This applies to coworkers, family members, a spouse, even yourself.

Practice meditating on these verses before meetings. Keep applying these principles consistently, and you will feel a radical change in your feelings toward them. This will greatly help you in discussions you do not like.

Translated from the article “A Little Bird Told Me” by Shawn Sommerkamp at www.mydtconnect.org