Listen, please!

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

James 1:19,20

There’s an old saying from around 60 AD that is attributed to Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher: “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Good advice for all times and situations. We can so easily fall into the trap of judging others far too quickly without first understanding them. It’s all too common that when even two people engage in a conversation, disagreements will arise.

We are called to love one another. And one measure of love is understanding. The first step to understanding people with different views than ours is to listen. Over time you will likely gain wisdom from understanding other views that can only be acquired through listening.

As we enter this new year make it your resolution to listen to your friends and family. When you simply listen, you acknowledge other’s significance in life. Listening shows others that you care about them and that they matter to you. Listening is a very active process. Learning to listen well can start simply by repeating what the other person said.  It shows the other person that you are not trying to bring your own agenda into the conversation but have actually heard them with out selfish distraction. Listening builds bridges and keeps the conversation alive.  When we are quick to judge it burns bridges and quickly divides rather than unites.

Give listening a try this year. The opportunities are all around us each and every day. You will be blessed!

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

― Leo Buscaglia

+ Campus Pastor Lane Skoglund-Anderson

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