Luke 11: 27 - 28 NKJV
Once again I was drawn to the weekly podcast of Wayne Jacobsen as he continued in his attempts to either rationalize or overcome racism in our country. This week ol' Wayne tackled the subject of just why we don't listen to others as we should. Why do we disregard the opinions of others? Why do we try our like hell to assert our own views on others? Are we so important that God imself has entitled us with the task of making sure that others see things our way? Hardly. One thing that I have learned through the years is that there are those who listen...and those who hear. Make no mistake, the two are very different. I had a conversation with a coworker recently on this very same subject. It seems that his son was having difficulty communicating with his children. However, in the presence of grandpa or grandma, the child would open up and talk freely. Listening and hearing. See, the child would listen to his parents...but he would hear grandpa. The simple fact of the matter is that, as parents, part of our duties is to provide direction to our own children. As a result, we may often be forced to make decisions which are not popular with our young ones. Therefore, our children may at times seek to bend the ear of one who will...hear them. Listening versus hearing. This is by no means a reflection of the parent child relationship, it's just that the kid feels more comfortable talking to grandpa and/or grandma about certain things because they know there will be no resistance from mom and dad. They're looking for someone to hear what it is they have to say. it would seem that grandparents have more of an open ear than parents do...perhaps.
3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4“And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds aof the air came and devoured it. 5“Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6“But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7“And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8“But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9And He said cto them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Mark 4: 3 -9 NKJV
I find it interesting that Jesus would at times punctuate his words with the phrase..."he who has ears, let him hear!" Was He speaking among those who were listening...or hearing? Obviously Jesus Himself knew the difference and sought to teach others as well. So, are we listening to those around us or are we hearing them? My friend, anyone can listen to the life going around them, but there's definately more involved. When I was younger, I used to lie awake at night and listen to the train whistles of the distant iron ore trains of northern Minnesota. However, when I was outside playing, I would hear my friends talking to me. All too often I would be listening for my mother to call me inside, but I wouldn't "hear" her. Like I said, there's a difference in the two. So, in regards to our own interaction with those around us, I believe that it's important that we keep our own ears open to what it is they are speaking to us. Just because we don't agree with something someone is telling us in no way means that it did not happen. I think that Wayne could have taken a big step by acknowledging this fact. We can talk all day long about the racial divide in this country, but that in no way means that millions of people were forced from their homeland, enslaved and treated as property in the early years of our nations history. Sorry folks, it happened. The moment in which we as a nation can come together with open ears to HEAR the thoughts of others we will be taking a huge step. To have a open ear is to hear others...not just listen.
~Scott~
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