In One Ear and Out the Other

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. James 1:22-24 (The Message).

How many times have you been talking to someone and felt that your words were going "in one ear and out the other"? Listening is sometimes difficult. Our brains may be swirling with thoughts of errands we have to run or tasks to be completed, but a friend is trying to tell us something that's important to them.  We may think we're being good listeners, when we really aren't. Often, we’re thinking about what we’re going to say when the other person finishes their thought.

With the divisions in the country today, it seems the art of listening is even more remote than it was in the past. We fail to listen and tune out anyone who has an opposing viewpoint. An example that swirled on social media this weekend was the encounter between a Kentucky high school student and a Native American in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It seems every media site showed  video clips, but they were taken from different angles and by various individuals. It’s virtually impossible to determine what really happened when we weren’t there ourselves.  The public has taken sides and decided that the young man was disrespectful or that the older man started it.  It’s difficult to try to figure out whether any one person was in the wrong. It’s also hard to tell whether any of the parties shown in the video clips were really listening to each other. In order to get along in the world, we need to listen to others, to God, and to ourselves. It's easy to appear to be listening, but we may only be hearing the words, without understanding their meaning. 

If we hope to take part in civil discourse with those who may disagree with us, we need to strive to be open to all voices. And we need to be ready to act on what we hear.  James tells us to listen to the Word. We can ask God to help us remember to do that. 

Prayer: Dear God, We thank you for giving us the ability to listen and to hear your voice.  We pray that you will continue to be with us into the future, reminding us when necessary to be patient.  Help us to listen and to hear the voices around us.  Amen.

Robin Hadfield