Are You a Good Listener?

James 1-19-21 NLT

“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. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”

If you are like most people, being a good listener is not an easy thing to do. Most people struggle with truly listening while engaged in an active conversation with another person. So if we struggle to listen to someone who is right in front of us, it is easy to understand how much more difficult it is to listen for and hear God speak to us, even when we truly believe that He is the Most High God and we desperately want to hear His voice.  

Being slow to speak is an equally difficult task for the average person as we have been trained to always put our needs above others, so we have a hard time putting others needs before our own.  Again, even during conversations with other people, we are not really listening to hear, but rather listening to speak; we are actively engaged in crafting a response rather than listening, hearing and understanding what the other person is saying.  

This weakness is found in most of us but we can learn to overcome it through practice. And what better way to practice active listening and patiently waiting to speak when it’s our turn than spending time in the Word with our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus was not quick to speak, in fact, He could tell by looking at and observing a person, exactly what they needed. He not only allowed them to speak their mind, but He observed their emotions and examined their heart as well, prior to responding. And when He did speak, His words were compassionate, understanding and loving in response.  

And most importantly, Jesus was slow to anger.  He spent a lot of time around people who were considered “unworthy” of His time and attention.  In fact, many of the people He spent time with were poor, diseased and disabled and some were thieves (Judas Iscariot), prostitutes (Mary Magdalene) and murderers (Paul). But Jesus lavished His love on them and was not angry with them for committing crimes or being unclean.  Why?  Because Jesus loves each and every one of His children, so He listens patiently and speaks slowly and lovingly to His beloved. He is slow to anger and responds to our needs with love when we bring our worries, cares and desires to Him.  

We are called to act righteously in our daily interactions with God’s people and remove the “filth and evil” in our hearts so we can embrace the righteousness that God gifted us when we were saved. How can you do that? By being more present and compassionate in the ways in which you communicate with and interact with the people around you. And not just the ones you like or love, but EVERY one you come in contact with.  

Think about it. Pray on it. Then just do it.