Tim Morrow

Anyone who is around me much knows I love to talk. I don’t mean “talk” as in a bad thing, I mean actually having conversations with people. Honestly, I love to talk about most anything when I meet people. If you like hunting, we can talk about hunting. If you like sports, we can talk about sports. I can talk about marriage, kids, grandkids, cars, and even the weather. I also have a tendency to talk more than I listen. When my kids were small, I would often just talk and not listen to what they had to say. Most parents can relate. In our early years of marriage, I would often want to “fix” my wife, or talk over her. When I was starting out as a pastor, I tended to lecture when I met with people rather than listen to their concerns. Over the years I’ve realized that listening is just as, if not more, important than talking.

As Christians, we often have hurt one another by not taking the time to listen. Christians should model “listening” more than anyone. This is because it was modeled to us in a real way by our father in heaven. Psalm 66:19 says, “But truly God has listened, he has attended to the voice of my prayer.” If God has done that for us, we should also be modeling his grace to others by listening to our family, our friends, and our children when they want to talk to us. James 1:19 says, “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Proverbs 18:13 says, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” There is good advice from scripture in these two verses. Not only does it help us live a more peaceable life, it actually helps us to be a better “salt & light” for Jesus to our world (Matthew 13-16).

So today, if you are a Christian, think about how you are listening to others. By listening you are taking time to hear a person out. It doesn’t mean you cannot respond or talk. But it does mean when you do respond you are hopefully more compassionate and informed in your response. I still love to talk, but I hope I am getting better at loving to listen.

(Tim Morrow is the pastor at New Life Church of Powell.)