How can I be more persuasive
In the late 1960’s, the rock band, Tommy James and the Shondells, had a smash hit record called, “Crystal Blue Persuasion.” As I sat here searching my mind for an opening paragraph to illustrate Solomon’s advice for today, I was drawn to the word “persuasive” (which we will see in his proverb in a moment). Being a big music fan, after noticing that word in the proverb, this song came to mind.
I have always enjoyed the tune, and thought there was some sort of spiritual message, but I never really analyzed the lyrics until now. I guess since it was a secular “soft rock” song from the sixties, I assumed if the lyrics were spiritual, they had to be New Age or something similar.
As it turns out, Tommy James said the idea for the song came from a combination of the first moon-landing in 1969 and the description of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. The astronauts spoke of the earth looking crystal blue from the surface of the moon, and Revelation 21 speaks of the many colors and gemstones (one of which is crystal) in describing the New Jerusalem.
With the war in Vietnam still raging and the nation going through some very tumultuous changes, Mr. James was attempting to bring a level of peace to America with his song. He was trying to “persuade” people through the uplifting lyrics and calm musical style of his song.
Persuasion is a worthwhile skill to develop when you are promoting a worthy endeavor. Solomon’s advice today speaks of being persuasive – “From a wise mind comes wise words; such words are persuasive”.
In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon deals with the topic of wise speech often, and although persuasion is to be expected from wise words, this is the first time that he tackles this topic with this intention in mind.
Our words, when chosen carefully through the filter of godly wisdom, can and will have the power of persuasion. The New American Standard Bible translates Solomon’s words this way – “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips.”
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