Words Without Action
We are all aware that communication involves exchanging words and listening to one another. There is, however, an often underestimated means of communicating that can be as profound yet even more powerful than spoken words.
Daniel Henderson said, “Our messages tell people what to do. Our lives show them how to do it.”
What I am talking about is action. There is some truth to the popular saying ‘action speaks louder than words’. Let’s consider the story of Adam and Eve, the literal first couple on earth.
A Talking Snake???
Have you ever wondered why Eve was talking to the snake is Genesis 3? Let me lay to rest this common cause of confusion. You see, the devil has no physical body. He is a spirit being, like his demon cohorts. As such, in order to communicate, he needs a physical entity to be able to manifest his presence and converse. And since there were no other men and women at the time, he used the snake to do his bidding.
He began his assault on the woman by simply tempting her and posing the question, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). It was communication in the form of temptation.
When the woman proceeded to answer the devil’s question, she may not have been aware of it at the time, but she was communicating to her husband her desire to continue to converse with the devil even though she did not say so. Actions speak volumes.
Unexpected Consequences
What resulted after was something both Adam and Eve did not expect. The devil responded to her saying, ‘“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.’ (Genesis 3: 4) – From merely just being tempted, the devil had upgraded a simple conversation to a deception.
Whereas God had said that they would surely die if they ate of the fruit, the Devil made them believe otherwise. By engaging the serpent in a conversation, Eve communicated her willingness to listen and her desire to know more. Our actions communicate.
From there the Devil said, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) the Devil had flipped the truth into a lie, turning enticement into deception. Our actions communicate more than we think.
Commission and Omission
Actions do not just speak louder than words, inaction too can communicate powerfully. Here’s what happened next:
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6)
Many people wonder where Adam was the whole time the devil was speaking to Eve. The answer is found in the verse above. He was standing right there with her, listening to the conversation.
You’d have to ask why did he not do anything to stop the conversation… but that’s for another blog. The point of this story is to illustrate how powerful our actions (and inaction) can be in communicating with others. Eve’s actions communicated her desire to her husband just as strongly as his inaction communicated his agreement with her.
Communication is more than just exchanging words and listening to one another, and our actions and inactions speak just as clearly.