"Listen"

Are you even willing,

To listen for a minute,

The cowboy asked the younger man,

When they got right up in it.

They were workin’ cattle,

And you know how things go,

If you have experience,

There is a certain flow,

That you want to happen,

When working those bovine,

And if you have a system,

Things tend to work out fine.

But if you have a know-it-all,

Who doesn’t really know,

Sometimes it gets real hard to bear,

When it starts to show.

Listening can be a challenge,

For those who need to hear,

It’s ‘cause their mouth is running,

And can’t get out of gear.

But if they’d only down-shift,

And give their mouth a rest,

They might just learn a thing or two,

And when put to the test.

Would turn out to be helpful,

And really work out better,

But listening becomes the key,

For every smart go-getter.

Listeners are learners,

Who learn because they listen,

And then get busy working,

At what they have been missin.’

So would you listen for a minute,

The cowboy asked again,

And actually he listened,

And that’s when hope begins.   

“My child, listen to what I say…” (Proverbs 2:1, NLT)

Listening truly is an art. But I don’t mean the kind of “listening” that makes people think you’re really hearing them when you aren’t. I mean really hearing and digesting the communication that is being shared. It’s why the book of Proverbs puts a high premium on listening. It’s why Jesus often said “Let those who have an ear to hear, hear.” Or in the book of Revelation, when John talks about having ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Yes, listening to God and one another is crucial to every person who is serious about growing spiritually. Moses said we would live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The implication is that God is talking and that we can and should be listening to Him. Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice, and would not recognize or follow the voice of a stranger who pretended to shepherd them.  Perhaps the number one way people feel that they are valued by us is when we give them our undivided attention. A noisy culture  competes with the art of listening. Let us be counter-cultural.

Lord, teach us to listen to You and one another, in Jesus’ name.                                                                          

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.