the TONE of WRITTEN WORDs

Can you hear the tone of my written words?  Is it laughable?  Applaudable?  Audible?  It is often the pitch that gives away the feelings of our spoken words, so how can we tell the pitch of our written words?  If I were reading my words to you, my body language would help stress a point.  My tone would control the flavor of my words.  The volume and pauses are speaker’s tools to persuade, so without being able to speak audibly, how can I get you to hear the heart of my written words effectively?Spaces between written words can be pauses; and capital letters can mean exclamation.  But written words leave so much more room for interpretation.  I can write “I miss you terribly,” and you can possibly assume that I may be sad and lonely. But this same statement said with a smile and a lift of the eyebrows can be said sarcastically.I wonder how often we have misread the written Word of God because we have failed to consider the heart of the Speaker?  Knowing that all of the words that Jesus said were from a heart filled with compassion, we must be sure to read it as such without missing His form and fashion.  God’s entire written word was personified in the Son: “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).Misinterpretation and misunderstanding begins when we are tone deaf to the character and Author of the Bible.  It’s really not hard to “hear” when you understand a person's heart--so why is there so much libel?Sadly, the slandering of the Speaker exists when we choose what we think fits.  It doesn’t work that way ‘cause the Bible is not a caricature; and every WORD must be read with an understanding of God’s character.  It’s God’s “text message” to mankind and His Facebook post to the world, so be careful how you read Him and be sure to let your heart hear Him.  Because if the central message begins to fade, know there’s nothing wrong with the Word’s audio, but probably something wrong with our hearts hearing aid!Like Jesus, can we make our written words audible—in text messages, emails, Facebook posts, Instagram captions?  Likewise, can you hear this blog’s tone?  If not, that’s because you’ve picked up the wrong phone!