Canary in a Coma

Now if I tell you that you suffer from delusions

You pay your analyst to reach the same conclusions

You live your life like a canary in a coalmine

You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a Coalmine by the Police

A few weeks ago the family was out running errands and, as is custom, we had some tunes playing in the background.  The song Canary in a Coalmine by the Police came on and when it was over my oldest asked my why someone would sing a song about a canary in a coma.  It took me a second to realize that she had misunderstood the lyrics - though in her defense the way Sting sings the song I can see how she could hear "a coma" instead of "coalmine".  When I stopped laughing (about 10 minutes later ) I explained what the words to the song actually were and what they meant.  I laughed so long and hard because my daughter's mistake reminded me of the many, many song lyrics I have not heard correctly over the years.  I am fairly certain that each of you have, on a least one occasion, messed up the lyrics to a song or two.  My question is - who's fault is it, yours or the singer with the diction of a two year old?

I was a communications minor in undergrad.  Most of my course work on the subject eludes my conscious memory, but I do clearly remember a statement my professor made in COMM 101 - if someone does not understand what you are saying the fault lies with you, the speaker, and not the listener.  I think I found that statement so profound because as a child I was always told that I needed to be a good listener, that I should have my "listening ears" on, that I had better pay attention.  If I misunderstood something a parent or teacher said, 99% of the time it was my fault, not the speaker/adult.  I always thought that was unfair...until I had children of my own.  Kids really don't listen well, do they?  I am certain that "go clean your room" can mean only one thing, yet my offspring can derive a thousand different interpretations out of that command, none of which match my intent that they clean their room.

This past election cycle I heard a number of politicians claim that God was on their side.  They were certain, they told us, that their candidacy was the will of the Almighty and because of this fact they would prevail at the polls.  Some did win, others did not.  Assuming, for the moment, that these individuals believed what they said (I know, its hard, but try to imagine a politician being honest) some of them were wrong.  Or were they right that God wanted them to run but wrong about the outcome?  Maybe they were correct on all accounts and it was God who messed up?  Who is a fault, the speaker (God) or the listener (the politician)?

Growing up in church I was taught that God speaks to me, the trick is learning how to listen.  If I could not hear or understand God it was not God's fault, but mine.  I took all of that to heart until that fateful day in COMM 101 when it dawned on me that if my teacher was correct, and I could not understand whatt God was saying to me, then the blame had to be placed squarely on God, the speaker.  This idea turned everything I ever believed on its head.  Rather than blame myself for not clearly understanding what God wanted me to do with my life I could pin it all on God. Or at least that is what I told myself for a couple of weeks.

The truth is that communication requires the speaker to be clear and the listen to pay attention to what the speaker is trying to say.  If I mumble my words like Keith Richards on a two-week bender, or am not clear in my thoughts, than it will be hard for people to understand me.  Likewise, if I am not really listening (like when my kids start whining at me about something their sibling has done) or I opt to hear what I want to hear, then I will miss out on what the person is saying.  But hey, this is basic stuff you already know.  You read this blog for earth-shattering, deeply profound insights (and occasionally I deliver).  So here it is - the rules of communication apply to our relationship with God as well.

God is, I believe, still learning how to communicate with us, the creation, even as we are trying to figure out how to hear what God is saying.  There are times when God has not been the most effective speaker, when "coalmine" comes out sounding like "a coma."  While this thought might be a bit unorthodox for some people, think about your own experience talking with children (assuming you have, at some point, attempted to engage a youngster in conversation.  If not, just pretend that you have).  As an adult you are aware that life is complex and complicated.  You know that fast food restaurants advertise toys in kids meals that they often don't have in stock.  Just because a toy is in the display case does not mean it is behind the counter.  Children don't get this.  All they know is they see the toy, want the toy, but did not get the toy in their meal (they remain blissfully unaware that food plays any part in going to the restaurant because it is all about getting a cheap plastic toy).  How do you explain marketing principals to a three year old on the verge of a major meltdown...no, really, I want to know.  If you have had an success at this please share since I have yet to figure it out.  Now, try nuclear physics or constitutional law.

My point is this - God, the creator of the vast and unfathomable universe, is sort of stuck in the same position with us.  How do you communicate with humans when they don't understand the complexities of all of creation?  Burning bushes- check.  Prophets - been there, done that.  Mountaintop encounters - yep. Story, myth, parable - tried them all.  There is no limit to the ways that God has tried to communicate with us, but the issue is content, not medium.  And yet, for some strange reason, God wants, needs, to speak to us.  So God keeps trying, like a good parent, to talk to us at our level about things that are way over our heads.  And we, like good children, try to pay attention and understand.  But it is hard, for us and for God.  Becuase sometimes we don't undertand why we did not get the toy we wanted.

Communication is a necessary, rewarding, and at times frustrating experience.  My hope and prayer for you this day is that you will clearly hear and understand God, if even just for a brief few moments.  And in those other times, when the message is not clear, I encourage you to cut yourself, and God, a little slack.  We are all still learning how to communicate with each other.