Communication builds relationships. Degrading communication is detrimental to relationships.
Degrading Communication
The dictionary shows that it is any words that hurt and want to control another, that causes fear or makes a person feel weak or powerless.
Some people believe that degrading or destructive communication doesn't really hurt because there aren't marks or bruises, a blue eye, or broken bones to show. A pattern of degrading communication is also called verbal abuse and can be cruel because it leaves scars on the soul.
The purpose of verbal abuse
The purpose of verbal abuse is control. The offender wants to control the other person. In doing so, he or she makes you feel worthless. This is an unconscious process. The abuser does not say to herself / himself: "I want to control him / her and make him / her feel bad about themself." They say, "He / she is acting wrong, I am right and I need to change him / her by controlling him / her."
There are several forms of verbal abuse:
In 1998, a study in England and America found that children who see their parents verbally abusing each other are prone to depression, anxiety and problems in their interpersonal relationships. The study also shows that verbal aggression between parents is more traumatic for the children than physical violence between the parents. Studies also show that children, from homes where there is verbal abuse, later in life become victims in such relationships or become the perpetrator themselves.
What does the offender look like?
Offenders are friendly in front of or with other people, but his / her family must walk on eggs otherwise he / she becomes aggressive. Verbal abusers usually throw tantrums only in their own home and they don't want others to know about it. So, guard your soul when you speak out of the house. Most perpetrators are friendly and treat their partners very well so that everyone thinks they are the perfect match. Until the victim comes into the house...
Perpetrators think it is their God-given right to control others' lives and use the Bible to justify themselves by telling the victim what to do and then expecting her to submit to all his desires, decisions and plans without any opposition. It's his way or no way. Perpetrators believe that their victims' opinions, beliefs, feelings and thoughts have no value and dismiss them as illogical.
Arguments of the abuser:
Healing in the family
1. Think differently
Verbal abuse is the result of how you see the world. How you think about the other person is how you will behave towards him/her. The picture someone has of the other person determines how he or she will behave towards the other person, as one's brain determines behaviour. There are numerous examples that show the effect the brain has on behavior.
There was a man who went into a walk-in refrigerator of a butchery and the door closed behind him. He immediately knew he was going to die during the night because everyone had already gone home and they weren't going to find him until the next morning. All he had with him was a small book and a pen on which he could write his last letters to his family. He wrote every hour... "it's now 18:00... and this is what goes through my mind; it's 19:00 now... and this is how I now feel; it's 20:00 now…” and so he continued. The next morning at 07:00 they found him dead in the fridge but the irony was that the fridge wasn't even on! He thought himself dead.
There was also a man who was dying in a Catholic hospital. A priest was brought to minister the last communion to him, which the priest did, but with the wrong man. The patient’s condition, to whom the Priest served communion, was not critical, but after hearing the words of the priest, his condition suddenly worsened. 15 minutes later, he died. He believed that it was his time to die, and he did.
God's picture of man is the following:
a. Image of God
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
It will help if one asks oneself that if the other person is the image bearer of God, how do I behave towards that person?
b. Abode of the Holy Spirit
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own
1 Corinthians 6:19
The question is, "If the Holy Spirit lives in the other person, how should I speak to that person because that is also how I speak to the Holy Spirit?"
c. Gifts to each other
House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:14
How do I act toward the gift God has given me?
2. Recognize the abuse
The key to healing is to spot the verbal abuse for what it is. Recognition is the first step to healing. Because the perpetrator usually denies it, the rest of the family will have to recognise it.
3. Deal with your feelings of false guilt
Victims need to realise that they cannot always be the scapegoat, even though they may have already started to believe that they are bad people.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14
Look at yourself again and see yourself as wonderful.
4. Set boundaries and talk to the offender
A boundary is only a boundary if it is communicated. Boundaries are for healing and not for punishment. It is there to protect.
"If you talk to me like that again, I'm going to leave the room but I will come back later."
Take Christian friends with you if your abuser won't listen to you. Their goal should be to break through his/her denial and work towards recovery.
Words have the power to build us up. Think about how you still remember words of encouragement and criticism from your parents and teachers. Throughout the Word, the importance and power of words is emphasized.
In the beginning, God said.... When God wanted to tell us how much He loved us, He sent His Son
to communicate to us His love.
Genesis 1: 2
We read in John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...
And in Proverbs 10:11
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4: 29
In 1848, Nathaniel Hawthorne lost his job. He didn't want to tell his wife, so he got up every morning and pretended to go to work, but then he went looking for work. When the end of the month approached and he still hadn't found a job, he knew he would have to break the news to her.
"Sweetheart, there's something I need to tell you," he began and continued, "I lost my job."
He waited for her to react in shock and for her to be upset but to his surprise she clapped her hands and said, “This is wonderful news! Now you can write that book you've always wanted."
"And with what are we going to live?" he wanted to know.
She calmly replied: "I always knew that I was married to a genius, that's why every month when you gave me the money for groceries, I put away a few rand. It's enough to last us for two years."
Her love and support contributed to one of the most famous American literary works, The Scarlet Letter, appearing two years later.