For most people, listening does not come naturally.  It is a skill that is formed by determination and discipline.  Giving our ears to God by listening to the right things in the right way will benefit us greatly as we strive to be the best Christians we can be.

James 1:19 (ESV)
¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Before we wind down for the night, let us take a few minutes to think about some things we should and should not listen to.

When James exhorts us to be quick to hear, he speaks of God’s word.  In ver. 21 he said, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”   The implanted word is referring to God’s word since He is the only one who can save.  So, as we think about the importance of listening, our thoughts should be directed to God.  He is the one that we should listen to first.

God does not talk to us the same way He spoke to His people in times past (Hebrews 1:1).  Today, He speaks to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:2), who speaks to us by His apostles (John 17:8), who speak to us by the word they were given by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).  The inspired words of the apostles are found in the Bible (Ephesians 3:4).  So, we give our ears to God when we listen to His words found in the Bible.

The best way to do this is by spending time in personal Bible study, but you can accomplish it in other ways as well. You can do it by attending the Bible studies that your local church has arranged  You can also do it by listening carefully when the preacher is delivering a message from the word of God.

In all these cases, listening takes focus and determination to truly hear what is being said or read.  The main purpose of listening is to learn, but then, it is to gather information that leads to action.   Let us do our best when we are listening, especially when God is doing the talking, to really hear what is being said so that we can make the proper application.  Listening to God is always a good thing to do, but we are blessed when we are doers, and not hearers only (James 1:22).

While God is the One we should listen to first, we must learn to listen to others as well.  For our marriages to be magnificent, we must learn to listen to our spouses.  We must avoid thinking about what we are going to say next when our spouse is talking to us and pay attention to what is being said.  Many couples who are struggling in their marriages could make things a little better almost immediately by simply learning to listen better.

Many misunderstandings between brethren in the local church could be cleared up, or avoided altogether if we would listen to each other more closely.  In all relationships of life, we are better off when we develop the skill to truly listen to others.  In doing so we are giving God our ears because listening is something that He expects from us.  The wise man once said, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future” (Proverbs 19:20).

We can also give our ears to God by determining not to listen to some things.  Earlier this week we considered the importance of using our tongues properly, including avoiding things such as gossip.  However, as important as it is not to gossip, it is just as important that we do not listen to gossip.  The gossiper can only practice his craft when he can find a listening ear.

Finally, just like the eyes are a gateway to the mind, so are the ears.  Let us give God our ears by being very careful about the kind of things that we listen to on TV and other media outlets.  Things that we hear lodge in our minds and make it difficult to be pure in our hearts.  Sin can be practiced and seen, but it can also be heard.  Let’s proceed with caution.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.