"If you would just listen to me."
"If any fans are out there listening..."
"Listen and I'll explain."
"I don't have to listen to you!"
"OK, you're not listening."
"If you're listening to this..."
"I don't think anybody's listening."
"...as if he was listening."
In the Bible (NIV translation), the word 'listen' is used 413 times, and the words 'hear' and 'heard' were used 1723 times! Why is that? Because, to put it bluntly, we don't. Listen, that is. Hearing a person and actually listening are two different things and we hardly ever truly listen to what the other person is saying. When I listen to someone speak, I start thinking of what I'm going to say after he or she is finished. Then, when they talk too long, I start to look like a bloated monkey, wanting to share my thing next! Or I'll be listening but then my eyes glaze over and I'll start thinking about what I'm going to after this. You could say that I FAIL at listening. Listening is hard, and I found out that I'm not the only one who finds it hard:
"Listening to what people were saying wasn't even important. But it was important to look as if you were listening to what people were saying. Actually, listening to what people are saying, to me, interferes with looking as if you were listening to what people are saying. -Errol Morris"
It's easy for me to listen to a story or some advice, if personally addressed to me, but when it's about the other person it becomes ridiculously hard. Ouch, that sounded so selfish! Please don't judge me for that but I'm being totally honest. This is when being a Christian comes in.
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry..." James 1:19 NIV
I'm going to try to take this to heart, because honestly, what would happen if we all listened?
"The Great Spirit gave you two ears and only one mouth, so you can talk half as much as you listen." -Native American proverb
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