There are no shortages in ways we are communicated to today. In fact, the messages come in so many different forms and so quickly, that we have to really work hard to be sure that we are not just receiving or hearing, but really listening. Listening goes beyond just taking in a message. True listening is about allowing something to sink in so that we internalize it and then when we respond or react we are doing so from a place where we have put the message into context and pulled it through our own filters for a comprehensive response. There are few things that are worse than getting back half an answer or finding out that the communication that we worked so hard to create, deliver, and ensure receipt, fell on deaf or uncaring ears. How we listen to others makes a huge difference in their willingness and desire to communicate with us again. Those who listen with both ears, an open mind and heart, and truly think about a response are the ones that people love to communicate and bring forth ideas, etc. We want to be known as those who go beyond hearing and come to be known as real listeners. We can read in Mark Chapter 4 how Jesus categorizes the different stages of listening in His parable of the farmer scattering seeds. We can also extend out the lesson to how we listen to others. If we allow the seeds that are sown to fall not on fertile ground we are losing a message and potentially alienating a person. Let us open up more than our ears and move from hearing to truly becoming listeners.
Reference: Mark 4:14-20 (New Living Testament)
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