Body Language

You can tell a lot about a person from their body language. In fact 70% of communication is non-verbal, your expression, tone of voice and posture. Beloved your Body language betrays what you really feel and your Behavior Broadcast what you truly believe. when I worked as a police officer this became an invaluable tool to read a person's Body Language. It could mean health or safety. In many ways the song was right, "Your Body is talking to me..." For instance if a person is attentive to what is being said, they tend to sit close to the edge of their seat, or lean forward, eyes fixed on the speaker while making attention noises. What are attention noises? they are "uh huh," "mmm," or in the Black Church tradition, "amen," "Preach it," "Yes Sir," and "I Know dats right." Conversely when a person is inattentive, hostile or not interested they tend to cross their arms over their chest, lean back with a blank stare or they will fiddle with something, or doodle with a pen.
Your Body Language Betrays how you really feel and your Behavior Broadcast what you truly Believe.
Those are individual examples of Body Language but there is a kind of collective Body Language displayed by a Nation, People, Community, group or family. For instance when our nation refused to attend the conference on racism in Switzerland, or when our Nation refuses to speak out against the killing of African Christians in the Sudan and the American people do not raise up in protest it sends a collective Body Language message to the world that we are uncaring and unfeeling about the oppression of other peoples in the world.
When The Black community, Black politicians, Black churches are not rising up and demanding action concerning the obscene numbers of Black Children dying on the streets; when children are pulled off buses and beaten in the South by the KKK; When a 9yr. old boy is burned by 3 older white males in Indiana and they are not charged; when a minister of the Gospel in Benton harbor Michigan is incarcerated for quoting the bible and the Black people, Black leaders, Black grass roots cannot collectively come together and demand change that we can believe in, our collective Body Language as a people says that we are worse off than ever before.
When the Church is no longer public space for the hurting to gather and find hope. When the church is fixated on confusing "Bling Bling" with God's Blessings we say with our collective Body Language that we have dismissed Jesus to the vestibule while we carry on business as usual. When Preachers, Pastors and lay will only Preach Jesus and not what Jesus Preached which was a word of rebuke to the "haves and have mores," Hope to the Hopeless and Truth to Power about the inequalities, injustices and evil from persons in high office it says collectively with our Body language that we are disconnected from the mind of Christ.
Your Body Language betrays how you really feel and your Behavior Broadcast what you truly Believe.
The African Apostle Paul said "let this Mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus our Lord..." What mind Paul? Paul replies, "He Humbled Himself..." Our collective Body Language as the Church of Jesus Christ should speak Humbly to the Hurting. There but for the Grace of God go I. We collectively, church by church, person by person, denomination by denomination should collectively speak Humility to others in need of compassion.
The Collective Body Language of God's Church should also say to the World Sacrifice is our Sacred duty. We always think in terms of giving one's life, that is true but more often than not it means being gracious; it means being forgiving; it means voting to spend money on ministry to the homeless, hungry and helpless rather than amassing large endowments. It means taking time to listen to the story of someone you don't like (and Listening means attentively letting what is said touch your heart). Jesus said "Deny yourself daily, take up your cross and follow me."
Ultimately having the mind of Christ where our Collective Body Language will speak Love! Not sentimental, Biological love, but Love that will stand in the storm with a struggling saint. Love that will stay on the wall against City Hall, The state House or the White House if it means the disenfranchised, The Dispossessed, and The Disinherited can receive Deliverance because we Love them enough.
Love that may not agree with someone else but Loves them unconditionally anyway; Love that puts the Church right in the midst of the mess so that God can make miracles out of the mess; A Love that wilt not let go of those dangling from distress, dis-ease and despondency. A Love that will Love the Hell out of your haters because the Church (churches individually & Collectively) will not return evil for evil and will continue to "Cry Loud and Spare not" when it comes to eradicating Racism in all its forms.
Remember your Body Language Betrays what you really feel and How you Behave Broadcast what you truly believe! Love is not what you give me, but Love is what you are willing to give up for me. Jesus not only gave up Heaven but he gave his life-"Wherefore [because of that] God also highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every other name. that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!"