Do you want to be heard? Do you listen?
We all want to be heard, but the key to being heard is to hear. Unfortunately, it seems that everybody is lecturing and no one is listening. Pastor Jamie shares God’s encouragement to listen and love others. We should learn to listen because listening is how we learn.
James 1:19-20 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
Why is listening important?
- Because we don’t know everything. Proverbs 18:13
A fool criticizes what he doesn’t understand.
- Because God speaks through others. Proverbs 11:14
- Because you can’t correct a problem you don’t understand. Proverbs 18:2
Christians are called to bring Kingdom solutions to the world around us, but we can’t do that if we haven’t accurately identified the problem first.
How to listen:
Mark 10:46-52 (Blind Bartimaeus)
- Stop.
Turn your attention to the other person and engage.
- Ask questions.
- Respond.
In our culture, simply knowing has replaced doing.
You don’t really know something until you’ve done something.
Are you learning to listen? Are you listening to learn?