Tuesday, April 5, 2022
“Listen to Others”
Whose a good listener? A good test is to take a moment to consider the time you spent correcting the grammar mistake in the first sentence. If something like an obvious mistake keeps us from moving on to the rest of the story, then it’s possible that we are unable to follow someone’s conversation when they say something we believe to be incorrect or uninteresting. Oh, by no means is this scientific. However, I often watch people when they are pretending to listen to my sermons. I can always tell when I lose them or when they become distracted by a text.
Listening isn’t always easy. Listening includes attention to verbal, physical, and emotional expressions, as well as contextual clues. Prior to seminary graduation and licensing, many pastors and chaplains are required to complete clinical “verbatims” of hospital and facility visits. In a couple of moments, we survey all the details of a patient’s room and record them in our journals after the visit. We pay attention to pictures on the bedside table, the cleanliness of the bed, their water cup, the smell and temperature of the room, and everything else one can imagine. This exercise teaches us how to listen, even if a patient is unresponsive or asleep.
Listening to others requires us to be interested in other people. Even if the subject matter isn’t our favorite topic, listening to other people is a fascinating growth opportunity that often produces fruit, even if it is long after the conversation occurred.
Yes! Other people have something important to communicate. Let’s be great listeners to other people today!
“Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry.” (James 1:19, CEB)
