On two separate occasions this week, I heard two very different responses to pointed questions. I will sometimes listen to the news when I’m in my car and there was a lot of talk about the war and reports that were recently released.

During one interview, the host was talking to high ranking politicians about the report and whether or not they thought the report should result in a change in direction. I’m not so much concerned about the politics at the moment as to how striking their answers were. After both politicians had answered, it became very clear to me that their response was at best tangential to the question. They didn’t answer the question.

Later in the week, I heard an interview with two Marines who had returned from Iraq 6 months earlier. They were asked some difficult questions and answered clearly and honestly. I also noticed that there was a discernible pause after the question and before the response. You could really tell that these guys were thinking. They thought about the question before the answered and they answered clearly and honestly. They answered the question.

I’m not trying to say that Marines are more honest and straightforward than politicians. But this got me thinking more about something I was reading this week about the medium being the message. The medium really is important and it also communicates at a level different from that of our words.

What do we communicate through the way in which live our lives? Is it authentic? What does where I live and what I drive say? How about where and what I eat? What about my bigger life choices such as the work I do and the sacrifices or compromises I make. What about the story I live under?

What do we communicate about the way that we do church? What do our structures and hierarchies (senior pastor, teaching pastor, etc) reflect about what we value? What do our buildings– large, centrally located, theatre-like– say about the church’s relationship with the community and the participants?

My longing this week is that I would live more true to what I hold true. Here is one small step I want to make in response. If I believe that a company attempts to confuse the public about the environmental or health consequences of their products and I think this is bad, then I’m not going to buy stock in their company.