Listen or Reject P.1

The other day I went to a diner and as I was seated the waitress stopped by the table and asked me what I wanted to drink. I told her water and on she went. A few minutes later she came back and said, “I didn’t hear what you wanted,” so I told her again.

It reminded me that we struggle to take time to listen to each other. Listening is a lost art. In a world of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, words are quickly losing their meaning.  When we keep our faces in our computers, phones, and other devices, we seem to be taking away the art of listening.

Listening is defined as “paying attention or making a conscious effort to hear.” Listening is the act of caring enough for the person speaking that you take your mind off yourself and place it consciously onto the one speaking.

When God spoke from the mountain in Exodus, the people trembled with fear and cried out to Moses to stop God from speaking to them directly. They said, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen.  But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”  However, if you are a student of The Word, you will realize that not only did they not want to hear God speak, but they also stopped listening to Moses.

Jesus said in Luke 10:16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

I work with students and have noticed a growing disrespect that some students have decided not to listen to their teachers.  The students don’t realize that their own rejection of the truth will some day turn back and hurt their own lives. This example, is the meaning of the passage.  One cannot say, “I love and follow God” and then turn around and reject the Word of God in the mouths of those sharing it.

Regardless from whom, the Word of God should arrest our hearts and draw us together with all those who believe.  We should have the attitude of Paul when he speaks of those who preach God's word out of selfish ambition verses those out of sincere hearts. He says “the important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.  And because of this I rejoice.”  Here is a man who passionately listened at the foot of the Cross.

KEY THOUGHT

As you think about your daily communication, stop and take a moment to reflect on who you are listening to and what they are truly saying.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, help us to become better listeners and yet know when you call us to talk about you with others. Amen