Do you know the difference between
To Hear and To Listen?
When you turn on the TV or the radio, you surely hear the people
talking,
BUT ARE YOU LISTENING TO THEM?
If we consult a dictionary, we will find
the following definition for the verb to hear:
"perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or
something)"
It is a passive attitude that does
not require any effort on our part. What we hear is not always precise in the
mind. We will hear, for example, the noise of the street or the song of
birds in a forest or the noise of engines in a factory.
To listen, on the other hand, represents an action depending on our will.
We decide to
listen. Do you grasp the big difference? When we are listening, it is a
specific sound that WE WANT TO PERCEIVE. It is no longer independent of
our will and it is no longer anything!
Instead of hearing the song of the
birds, you will listen to THE song of THE nightingale. You will listen to the
failures of your engine.
It is very important to understand
the meaning of the verb to listen when it comes to the Word of our Father. Let
us read how Paul warns us about this in his second epistle to Timothy, chapter
4, verses 1 to 4:
" 1 I charge you therefore
before Elohim and the Lord Yeshuah Christ, who will
judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2
Preach THE WORD! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their
own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap
up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. "
Paul therefore warns us that at a
certain time people will desire to hear pleasant things, anything, as long as it is pleasant! This way is the way of the world
opposite to that of the believer because these men, instead of LISTENING
and LISTENING TO THE TRUTH, will turn away from it!
This is exactly what a communications
expert is telling:
"Experience
shows that today's man has a natural inclination (that is to say, independent
of his will) to retain only what corresponds to pleasant emotions.
In these
conditions, the information that the ear transmits to the brain is FILTERED
through the screen of our UNCONSCIOUS attitude and this prevents our objective
information, it prevents us from seeing clearly, discerning the pros and cons
of what we hear. "
This expert therefore confirms that
the time of which Paul speaks is here. Paul's prophecy is therefore being
fulfilled in our time and this attitude of today's man is a danger for all
believers who risk being manipulated by communication technicians!
Let us therefore follow the
recommendation of Yeshua stated in Matthew 10:16:
" “Behold, I send you out as sheep IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as
doves."
Indeed, these days, we will hear
more and more information and noises, but we must listen to the slightest
suspicious noise and learn to filter what we are hearing.
You will have to grow Motivation in yourself!
Improving the quality of listening
requires a dose of motivation. Indeed, you must fight this natural tendency
that you have to want to hear pleasant things that give you the impression of confort.
On the contrary, it may be that you
have for instance in front of you somebody who has difficulty expressing
himself, at the very least dislexic, but whose
message is vital for you. His difficulty of expression will
BREAK THE CHARM!
Your selfish nature will push you to
close the filter that connects the listening from your ear to the brain. You
will therefore divert your attention to other areas of interest, thus avoiding
enriching and corrective listening. This disinterest created by a lack of
motivation will lead you to a drowsiness, first physical and then
spiritual.
Such drowsiness leads to the
criminal lukewarmness alleged against the Laodicean
Church in the end times (Revelation 3: 14-22).
How can we remedy the lack of
motivation? A first means is first of all to convince
oneself that any speaker is a creature of our Father and that he must therefore
have an outstanding value. His words and actions have intrinsic values
that we should take advantage of. So
let's be on the lookout to discover them and to pick the fruits. Let’s put our
assumptions and those of those around us aside and show independence of mind.
Let us gather all our energy to
listen attentively and do not hesitate to take notes to avoid forgetting
enriching meditations following our listening.
All this
corresponds to an active attitude, an attitude guided by love to seek to
understand what our Lord eventually wants to tell us.
This type of action is also a way of
redeeming time but pay attention on the fact that listening to someone does not
necessarily mean that we must espouse his views; on the contrary, it may be
that listening will reveal lies and a risk of seduction which could lead us
into in the wrong direction.
Let us always take as an example
that of David vis-à-vis the Word of our Creator, according to Psalm 119, verses
129 and 130:
" 129 Your
testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps
them.
130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to
the simple."
Avoid food in excess!
One last advice to avoid poor
quality listening is to avoid overeating. Indeed, a difficult digestion thwarts
the support of our attention necessary for good listening.
To avoid this, it is recommended to
eat moderately and without any hurry.
Some of you are living in countries
where food is plentiful; if these your case, remember the painful story of the Children
of Israel in the wilderness with the quails they ate hastily (Numbers 11).
Excess food also has a spiritual aspect: be careful not to stuff yourselves with all the
beliefs that circulate around you, propagated by an endless number of so-called
prophets that our Lord never sent.
So let us always remember this warning in Luke 21, verses 34 to 36:
" 34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down
with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you
unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell
on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always
that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”