My beloved friends,
How’s your Sunday going? Fine, I hope. Right here, I’m exhausted but decided to take a few minutes, just a few minutes to write you these lines. And I hope they bless you.
Many people under-estimate the power of listening. Yes, I’m going to be talking about the power of listening today. So, never under-estimate the power of listening, it can go a long long way. When someone comes to you with a problem, listen. If you’re talking and they’re talking, guess who’s listening? Nobody. Of course, you may have something to chip in or say, one or two things here or there but it’s courteous to let the other party finish first. This happens time and time again in arguments or rows; one party’s trying to say something and before they’ve even had time to finish off their sentence, you may ASSUME, you know what they’re trying to say and interrupt and in the end, you miss the whole point or leave out a few vital or cardinal points they’ve raised.
Even in normal conversations, listening is essential. You may ask a question or ask them to explain further about an issue and along the way, you interrupt. They might try to emphasize again, what they’re trying to say, but then, you interrupt and come up with your own points causing the other party to either shut down entirely, become disinterested in talking further or leave the conversation altogether. JESUS always knew what the scribes what had to say, HE is LORD but HE liked to listen to them nonetheless. Sometimes, they asked questions and sometimes they merely expressed foolishness in their words and actions; HE accomodated it all and had answers readily waiting for them which made them to come to the conclusion that HE was too smart for them. The reason why they were desperate to eliminate HIM.
Listening. This key to a bitter-free communication. The other party mightn’t listen sometimes but don’t be like them; give them the exact opposite and listen to them. Listening doesn’t necessarily mean you agree to their ideas or beliefs, it only shows respect. And it means you’re taking in every word they say. It’d be nice too (In heated conversations) to always ask “Have you finished? May I speak now”? Before speaking. Sometimes, words may not always be required but listening is essential. And it shows you are, of course, listening to whatever they have to say.
Conversations can serve to pull people together or tear them apart. Don’t get too engrossed in what you’re saying, that you OVERLOOK what the other party is saying. Misconceptions stem from not listening well, sometimes. And if you don’t understand something the other party’s saying, by all means, confirm by saying something like “I think this is what you’re trying to say, correct me if I’m wrong” Doesn’t hurt.
So, this is my two cents for today. Feel free to share how listening, genuinely listening to someone else has impacted your life and changed your conversations below.
GOD Bless you all as you seek to please HIM in everything that you do.
Rita Pam
