The gift of hearing is incredible. I love to sit and listen to music, especially
Christian hymns. On Sunday mornings, my husband and I enjoy listening
and singing along to acapella gospel songs in preparation for worship just a
couple of hours later. It is also a wonderful thing to be able to learn and
gain wisdom from presentations in church, Bible classes, education,
podcasts, and work.
Our ears no doubt perform important service to us. Jesus said “He who has
ears to hear, let him hear” Mark 4:9. Jesus also stated in Mark 4:24, “Take
heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured
to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” In James 1:19, it is stated
“let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
In Proverbs 18:13, we read “To answer before listening – that is folly and
shame.” Proverbs 19:27 states “Stop listening to instruction, my son, and
you will stray from the words of knowledge.” We should use the gift of our
hearing for the purpose of gaining good knowledge. Our ears allow us to
hear the word of God. See Luke 11:28. Also, remember faith comes from
hearing (Romans 10:17).
However, we must use discretion and caution in what we allow our ears to
access, right? While there is good music, there are also songs with sinful
words and lyrics. There are movies with words that we do not need to hear,
and there are even conversations in our everyday life that we should not
listen to and acknowledge. Of course, I am referencing gossip.
Did you hear about ________? Well, I heard that she… Sit back for a
minute and think about your past. Have you ever shared information that
you did not know to be true or even worse, you had serious doubts was
true at all? Maybe you have not but what about giving an ear to that
information?
You might be thinking what does the topic of gossip have to do with ears?
Well, I would venture to say that we can use our ears and attention to
spread gossip. I remember a time when I had just graduated law school
and was working in my first real job. I was on a work trip and sitting at lunch
with several female co-workers who began talking about another co-worker
who was not present. I recall feeling really uncomfortable but at the same
time too intimidated to speak up in an attempt to end the conversation.
While I did not actually contribute words to the gossip, sitting there in my
silence, I certainly did nothing to stop it.
Friends, we need to be cautious with the information that we consume in
our daily walk. While sometimes it is very important that we listen and pick
up on information like, for instance, your server’s name at the restaurant so
you can have an opportunity to be a good example and possibly make a
connection with that person, or the names of people just in general that you
meet in passing. But there are other times when we must take a stand and
turn our backs to gossip. We need to decline to listen to information that is
meant to hurt and especially when its accuracy is questionable. These kind
of words should not be on the table for consumption. At that lunch with my
co-workers, I should have voiced an objection to the conversation about the
absent co-worker. When we listen to gossip, we are going along with it and
we are, at least in my opinion, essentially as guilty as the one who actually
stated it. Gossip ends when there are no available ears to hear it. Read
that sentence again. Let’s use our ears for good and not for evil.
I have walked in the shoes of having gossip spread about me. In my
personal situation, with the ability of hindsight, I can see that there were
maybe four or five people talking and/or listening to the false information
about me, but at the time, it could have been 400 in my mind. Having fake
news spread about you is hurtful.
So, how do we tune our ears to the good information that we need to hear
and at the same time, filter out the negative chatter that is aimed at hurting
others? Let’s be as cautious with whom we associate with as we are with
what channels we listen to and which movies we go to see. We must
“guard our hearts” (Proverbs 4:23, Philippians 4:7), and that often begins
with what we see and hear.
Proverbs 18:15 states “The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And
the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” We should use our ears to seek
knowledge – not evil or gossip. Not necessarily the most interesting words,
but the right words. The truth. Proverbs 18:21 states that “Death and life
are in the power of the tongue.” Let’s respect that power and use caution
with not only what we say but what we listen to as well.
Love,
Misty Reynolds
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