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Talking and Listening: Two ears, one mouth
Okay, let’s get right at it. Why is it so hard to get people to listen to you? For the same reason you don’t like to do it. Listening is an act of surrender--you surrender the agenda to the speaker. You lose control of the conversation. The speaker will probably start telling you what to do (God forbid). You probably know everything the person is going to say (blah, blah, blah; yada, yada, yada). Listening seems weak.
Except that it’s good. And godly. And smart. “He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame” (Proverbs 18:13). You can’t learn when you’re talking. Listening shows respect to someone else. Listening first helps you avoid revealing that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Listening first gives you time to organize and focus your thoughts, so that when it is your turn, your words will have greater impact.
You’ve been trained to listen to certain people, certain authority figures. When you were a child, you listened to parents and teachers. Now you listen to people like platoon leaders and COs. The same skills that you’ve learned in making yourself listen to certain people are skills that can help you to be a better listener, period.
Practicing listening to other people is also excellent training to help you listen better to God.
Okay, let’s get right at it. Why is it so hard to get people to listen to you? For the same reason you don’t like to do it. Listening is an act of surrender--you surrender the agenda to the speaker. You lose control of the conversation. The speaker will probably start telling you what to do (God forbid). You probably know everything the person is going to say (blah, blah, blah; yada, yada, yada). Listening seems weak.
Except that it’s good. And godly. And smart. “He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame” (Proverbs 18:13). You can’t learn when you’re talking. Listening shows respect to someone else. Listening first helps you avoid revealing that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Listening first gives you time to organize and focus your thoughts, so that when it is your turn, your words will have greater impact.
You’ve been trained to listen to certain people, certain authority figures. When you were a child, you listened to parents and teachers. Now you listen to people like platoon leaders and COs. The same skills that you’ve learned in making yourself listen to certain people are skills that can help you to be a better listener, period.
Practicing listening to other people is also excellent training to help you listen better to God.
Scripture
About this Plan
The experience of serving your country overseas--and sometimes seeing firsthand man’s inhumanity to man--may teach you important lessons about life while turning your stomach at the same time. But recognize that God has an even better way for us to learn life wisdom, a way that continually draws us closer to him no matter how far from family or church we might be. Because of his great love for us, he would much rather make us wiser through words. In this way we wouldn’t be sadder but wiser; we would be wiser and happier. The Bible’s book of Proverbs is an absolute gold mine of wisdom for the daily decisions you must make. It will help you develop your personal values and tune your life’s agenda more closely to resemble God’s.
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We would like to thank Time of Grace Ministry for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.timeofgrace.org
