Listen Up

I don’t remember the specifics of time and place, but somewhere in my early life, I memorized James 1:19 – “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”  I remember someone asking why we thought God created us with two ears and one mouth. In spite of the benefits of listening, most folks would rather than talk. Columnist Doug Larson once wrote, “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk. Bernard Baruch was an American financier and statesman, and one of the country’s richest and most powerful men. He certainly knew something about success, and proclaimed, “Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”  We live in a world filled with noise, but somewhere in the midst of the loudness, there are words that we need to hear. See what you can hear this week.