As I was on GOOGLE and pinning on PINTEREST, I found this poster/picture! I saved it and knew it would make a GREAT devotional blog theme series! Might just make a GREAT series for my ABLAZE JR HIGH Ministry group as well! (and a SERIES will hopefully get me to being FAITHFUL in my devotional posts as well!)
TODAY'S 'WAY 2 LOVE': "LISTEN WITHOUT INTERRUPTING"
Key Verse Proverbs 18
It has been said to me that I am a great listener, as I enjoy listening to people (sometimes fortunately & unfortunately even when they do not know I am listening). God has granted me an excellent hearing/listening ability!
Hearing VS Listening... Do you know the difference?? Some people have differing views, and mine is definitely not the 'be all that ends all', but it sums it up well for me, and others I know have a similar view on the topic.
Hearing is the passive activity that your ears were created to do -- Listening is the active activity that involves your ears and your mind! Hearing can involve noises, music, talking in a crowded room, birds, etc. Listening involves actually being involved in the conversation or the noise itself. If I can hear a bird it's sweet, I know the bird is there. But if I truly listen to the bird, I can tell you approximately where the bird is, what kind of bird it is and MORE. Listening involves your two ears and your one mind... You were meant to listen twice as much as you speak, as you only have one mouth!
This is where TODAY's MESSAGE fits in; Listen without interrupting. We all have something to say, and when we are listening to someone else talk, we just want to put our 'two cents' in. There is a difference between interjecting and interrupting as well. Interrupting involves you taking over the conversation, and sometimes its not even about the topic or theme that the conversation was about in the first place. Interjecting is also giving your opinion or view on something that someone is talking about, and you have to technically interrupt sometimes to get your voice heard, but it still remains part of the original conversation, and the first person talking should be able to just continue with what they were saying.
We all have the need to interrupt and interject. I find myself more of an interjector, and I know I have been 'in trouble' for interjecting. It is seen as a problem, as I seem to want my 'two cents' to be heard. Most cases, it's because the total truth is not coming out in the conversation, and I know there are things that should be said but aren't being said. Sometimes, it us just in fact a need to talk.
We all know SOMEONE who comes to mind when you bring up this subject of listening without interrupting... because there is always that one person who needs to be heard. They want everyone to listen to what they have to say. For example, one person I know (not naming names or sexes or places to keep it 'professional') continuously interrupts during a conversation, and so many people are annoyed by it, but it helps when the person in charge can easily bring the conversation back to where we were. Little 'bunny trails' as people like to say are alright for a brief time, but EVERY time is a little ridiculous. (Sometimes they actually have NOTHING to do with what the conversation is about).
Because I am a teacher, I strive to 'listen' to all of the children, tweens, teens and adults that are in my care. It also reflects on you as a person, if you are living the example of listening and not just hearing. But it is also in the way that you speak that is important! Showing LOVE is the BEST way to go!
That golden rule always comes back into play -- 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!' How would you want others to respond and listen to you when you are talking.
I found this GREAT picture online when googling hearing vs listening:
PROVERBS 18:13 says: "Answering before listening
is both stupid and rude." (The Message Version)
The MOST important person that you need to HEAR and LISTEN to is GOD! When you just HEAR words, you do nothing with them. But when you are actually LISTENING to the voice of God, or to the WORD of GOD when you read the Bible, then you can ACTIVELY participate in God's plan for your life.
BE BLESSED!
~Mitzi
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