“What ???”

With all the “noise” surrounding us, it’s easy to miss important things that are being said. We may hear from a loved one,  “David, are you listening to me…of course I’m listening…well, what did I just say….uuuugghhh.” 

According to Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, “being listened to is the psychological equivalent of AIR. It is the deepest hunger of the human heart. It communicates to another: You matter to me, I find you of value, I care for and respect you. It warms and nourishes the spirit. It stimulates affection. It solidifies bonds. It adds to human happiness.”

We all like and need to be listened to. I think most of us are guilty of “not listening” at times. In many cases, we may get away with it…maybe what was said had minimal value….but in truth, it may have had significant and even “life changing” value, and we missed it.

What about when God speaks to us? When we don’t listen to God, we run the risk of missing something of eternal value. Without even knowing it, we can begin to trivialize scripture…of getting too used to God’s word……”oh yes, I’m familiar with that passage…. I’ve heard that one ….  I know what that means…. Let’s skip to another one….  I remember once being admonished to read the passages in my Bible that I  have NOT UNDERLINED…. ie, the passages that I decided don’t apply to me or were not that important.

Sometimes spiritual music can have the same effect on me.…. little catchy tunes… “little ditties”…. or songs that fail to “touch” the soul. If the song seems mundane, I may consider the words mundane. Many of us may recall the song “This Is The Day” (It goes… “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made… let us rejoice, let us rejoice , and be glad in it and be glad in it…oh, this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it…this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.”) We used to sing it all the time and it was so familiar that I usually went on “auto-pilot” when we sang it. Well, one day during a Bible study, the leader said together let’s sing “This Is The Day” 10 times in a row….hmmmmm. We did it,  and by the time we neared the end, the words began to come alive… the meaning returned, they were powerful, they did elevate my soul. (You may want to try this exercise)

So anyway, we need to work on listening. We need to listen to one another and let each one know how much we value them. We need to listen to God and let him know how much we value him, and allow his words of eternal life change us.