Are We Listening?

​We live in a world where there is no shortage of opinions or ways to disseminate those opinions.  With the advent of social media platforms, anyone and everyone can get onto Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or countless other media platforms and let their voice be heard by thousands and thousands of people around the globe.  This has caused many to speak with boldness in ways they never would have done before.  It is all too easy to be bold and speak one’s mind from behind a touchscreen and the comforts of our own living room.  We have a thought; we fire off a Tweet.  Never really giving much thought to how our words will be received or how they might impact others.  Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”  In other words, the more we talk, the more we run on at the mouth, the more likely we are to say something slanderous, hurtful or to engage in gossip.  Thus, “whoever retrains his lips is prudent.”  James talks about this when he writes, “let every person be quick to hear, [and] slow to speak” (James 1:19).  We should listen far more than we talk.  Today, listening is becoming a lost art.  We hear other people talking but rarely do we hear what they are saying.  Today let’s do our best to do that—to listen more than we speak, to do our best to understand others and not just hear them.  Let’s do our best today and everyday to be prudent and restrain our lips.