Some are more practiced than others. The art of listening gets easily lost in a season where there are so many platforms for "speaking". Like seeds scattered in the wind, hurtful words cannot be unheard or unsaid.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer always provides challenging quotes:
"Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either."
I think he is right. There is much to ponder in that statement. Jesus was an amazing example of listening. He often would listen... and then there would be a pause before he would offer his thoughts. He had a way of making a few words count.
For the woman in the courtyard about to be stoned for adulterous acts, He listened, waited and wrote something unrecorded in the sand.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. -Matthew 8:4-8
His listening was long, his written words still a mystery, and his spoken reply one we still repeat 2000 years later. Such wisdom!
Jesus already knew the true story. He knew what was true and what was twisted. He knew who the man involved was, but he seemed to be missing from the terrifying scene.
James was right. Taming the tongue is hard. It is small but likes to wag. Those who listen well become the learned. It is a skill that can be practiced and honed, but few will truly master the art. Perhaps it is pride more than impatience that makes us long on speaking and less on listening.
One more time,
“All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
It is a scriptures I should ponder often. Jesus is the master defender and advocate before those who saw only the sin and not the stumbling, sorrowful soul. We are not instructed to embrace the sin, but we are to love the sinner. When we listen for their stories and begin to see their hearts, often love comes easier.
"Everyone has a story or struggle that will break your heart." -Brene Brown
Today, I am grateful for the art of listening.
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