Hearing or Listening
I am, after all, a human male with a default setting in his head to hear but not listen.
I caught myself again yesterday asking my wife a question. Then she answered it. Then a few minutes later I don’t remember what she told me and I had to ask again, ashamedly admitting that I was hearing her answer but not listening to her. I am, after all, a human male with a default setting in his head to hear but not listen.
Take, for instance, the man driving up a steep, narrow mountain road. A woman is driving down the same road. As they pass each other the woman leans out the window and yells, “PIG!” The man immediately leans out his window, turns back to her car having passed by, and hopes she can hear him yell, “WITCH!” In just that instant, before he could turn back to look at the road, the man’s car thudded into something massive in the middle of the road. A pig.
“He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame” (Proverbs 18:13). We think actually listening to someone might be unprofitable. Risky. Time consuming. But the greater danger is not listening. It’s amazing what blessing and opportunity come to those who listen.
Case in point: Mary. Jesus visited her and Martha and they both welcomed him into her home. Martha could hear Jesus while she hustled and bustled in the kitchen. Mary listened to Jesus and, according to Jesus himself, chose what is better. Mary was blessed by listening.
No wonder the Christian church year paves the way for the season of Lent by the transfiguration of Jesus, where the Father reminds all of us who are quick to speak, to analyze, to conclude, to have the answer … “Listen to him.” Jesus, that is. Listen to Jesus.
The season of Lent is as beneficial as it is beautiful for listening to Jesus. So open your ears to welcome his words of grace and guidance. Open your mind to contemplate when he answers prayer and how he blesses your life. Open your heart to believe again and appreciate more the age-old stories of his suffering and death, and of the acts and struggles of his disciples. Be quiet. Stop thinking you have all the answers. Start listening. He’s already speaking.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I perceive so very little of how you bless me in my life. Pride, distractions, other loyalties are like earplugs that keep me from enjoying the stimulations of your love. Will you reprogram me to not just hear, but listen? Will you be patient with my limited perception and show me what a gracious Savior you are to me? This Lenten season, help me to be more aware of your blessings in my life, and to take to heart what you say to encourage me, forgive me, and lead me on. Amen.