"Okay everyone, shut up for a minute.
Seriously. When’s the last time you just listened? I’ve been around you; I know you don’t do it. I’ve seen you at meetings, giving your opinion about everything. I’ve seen you at church, talking about the flaws in the message. I’ve seen you with your family, where everyone is talking and not a word is heard. And you’ve seen me too."
A blog post by Paul Lytle on Christian Pilgrimage.
"As children, we learn to express ourselves long before we learn to be silent and attentive. We never seem to get that equation quite right. Can you imagine how many more words are spoken in this world than are heard?
Just today I was trying to speak to a customer about something, and she didn’t listen to a single word I said. It was fairly annoying, especially since she was complaining about something the law required me to do. But before I can get too annoyed, I have to wonder just how attentive I’ve been to others.
We have a big problem in this age with authority. The very word has a negative connotation now. Even Christians will often deny the right of the government to wield authority, or of church elders to hold them accountable for moral issues. “You can’t judge me” has become a common phrase even in sanctuaries.
We talk all day about the right to free speech. Which is great as things go, but what about the responsibility to listen?
Our desire to go our own way extends to the way we treat the Bible. Most Christians don’t read it at all. If they do, they ignore certain parts, saying those parts are cultural or doesn’t apply any more. We write books and blogs, justifying those low views of Scripture. We keep talking, so we don’t have to listen. continued . . .
Seriously. When’s the last time you just listened? I’ve been around you; I know you don’t do it. I’ve seen you at meetings, giving your opinion about everything. I’ve seen you at church, talking about the flaws in the message. I’ve seen you with your family, where everyone is talking and not a word is heard. And you’ve seen me too."
Shut up and pay attention!
A blog post by Paul Lytle on Christian Pilgrimage.
“Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,”
-Proverbs 4:1
-Proverbs 4:1
"As children, we learn to express ourselves long before we learn to be silent and attentive. We never seem to get that equation quite right. Can you imagine how many more words are spoken in this world than are heard?
Just today I was trying to speak to a customer about something, and she didn’t listen to a single word I said. It was fairly annoying, especially since she was complaining about something the law required me to do. But before I can get too annoyed, I have to wonder just how attentive I’ve been to others.
We have a big problem in this age with authority. The very word has a negative connotation now. Even Christians will often deny the right of the government to wield authority, or of church elders to hold them accountable for moral issues. “You can’t judge me” has become a common phrase even in sanctuaries.
We talk all day about the right to free speech. Which is great as things go, but what about the responsibility to listen?
Our desire to go our own way extends to the way we treat the Bible. Most Christians don’t read it at all. If they do, they ignore certain parts, saying those parts are cultural or doesn’t apply any more. We write books and blogs, justifying those low views of Scripture. We keep talking, so we don’t have to listen. continued . . .
I dare you to go over to Paul Lytle's blog and read the rest of it.
I don't know how much of Paul's writings I would agree with it,
but I loved how he wrote this post. Blunt. In your face.
No fluffing around. Refreshing. I'll shut up now.
I don't know how much of Paul's writings I would agree with it,
but I loved how he wrote this post. Blunt. In your face.
No fluffing around. Refreshing. I'll shut up now.
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