Noteworthy

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
"It matters"

I suppose a more accurate question would be: WHO are you listening to?  Psalm 78:1 says, "Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth."  The word ear in this verse means, "to hear, listen, give ear, or to be obedient."  I am currently in school finishing up my B.A, and when I am walking around campus, to and from classes, I notice many people with headphones in their ears.  Most, I suppose, are listening to music while they are walking to their next class, some are sitting at tables and others are reclined on a grassy spot listening and relaxing.  Many people "relax" by listening to music, but don't mistake that word "relax" to mean "inactivity."  Hearing, or listening, is an action, and it requires our attention and focus.

My kids come home from school with many stories about their day.  Some of those stories are funny...hilarious actually, others are sad, perhaps about something someone said to hurt their feelings.  We expect children to be hurt by what others are saying about them because they are young.  We try to teach them to ignore what others say about them, or teach them the appropriate response to any given situation.  Yet, as adults we are guilty of the same thing.  You would think we would know better by now!  Who or what are YOU listening to?  Is it someone in your workplace?  In your family, telling you that you will never accomplish your dream?  Maybe it's just that self-critical voice inside your head, (no, you're not crazy), that says you won't make it?  In Psalm 78:1, that word incline means, (this is where the action takes place), "to stretch out, extend, spread out, turn, incline, bend or bow."  Here is where our listening becomes active.  We won't here the good stuff we need to hear if we keep taking a passive role in our listening, reclined back on the grassy spot, soaking it all in.  Letting anyone and everyone speak into our lives as if they have the prophetic mandate from God Himself!  We should be more cautious as to who we let influence our lives.  We need to sit up, stretch out and extend our listening capabilities.  

Maybe we need to lean in a little closer on Sundays when Pastor is teaching, or perhaps in a small group you attend.  Maybe we need to turn our eyes toward Jesus and bend over our Bible in study more often, instead of just relying on someone else to do it for us.  Maybe then we will hear the good news that God has for us.

Kristen