“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion.” -Proverbs 18:2
While in college, I took several classes in communication. I was not a communications major, but my future wife was. I enjoyed attending class with her, so when I could take one of her classes as an elective, I did. I am thankful for these classes as I learned several great skills that I still use today.
One class that Aimee and I took together was a communication class on listening. This class focused on teaching the fundamentals of active listening. Although I am not always the best at listening to others, active listening is tremendously important. In this class, we learned that we don’t usually listen to others to learn and to understand. We often just listen to just prepare an answer or response. That is to say, when others are talking to us, we are not giving them our full attention. We are spending part of our mental focus on what we should say next. Active listening seeks first to hear the full thoughts of the person we are in conversation with before we offer our own thoughts. After all, why speak without all the facts and information? It could change your answer.
It has been a long time since we took that class on listening, but it seems so important today. There is a lot of pain and frustration in our world. Part of that frustration comes from the simple fact that those who are hurting have a hard time being heard. We spend a lot of time expressing our opinions but so little time actively listening to those who are hurting. What would it be like if we first sought to hear, understand, and empathize before we ever expressed our opinions? If we would like to bring peace and hope to this world, just as it is in heaven, I believe the first step is listening…active listening.
Today, take time to listen. Listen to God. Listen to your neighbor. Give someone your full attention, it may very well be the kindest thing you do.
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
