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Writer's pictureReclaiming Hope Ministry

Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear



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 hearMark 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



Listen to the Reclaiming Hope podcast with Misty & Ray 

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