I’m All Ears
But do I really listen . . .?
(With thanks to my brother, Barry, for the great title…)
I’m all ears!
Have you ever said that? Or heard it? What does it mean? Let’s break it down together . . .
Someone comes to you at your work place and says, “Hey, I have a great idea!”
I’m all ears, buddy. Lay it on me.
Or, you say to your team leader, “Hey, let’s change our focus on this project. Do you have time to listen?”
I’m all ears!
Your child pulls on your pant leg and says, “I have a secret.” You bend down and whisper in her ear.
I’m all ears!
Get it? It means some listening is about to happen. Action? Well, maybe.
Jesus had something to say about this. Several times, in fact.
He said that having ears isn’t the whole thing. To listen without doing is useless.
And the writers of the New Testament spell it out also. From James 1:22 (ESV):
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Seems like hearing and listening might be two different things. We often hear something that someone else says, but we don’t really listen with our whole being.
Maybe if we listened with our whole being to what God says to us in his Word, we’d be faithful doers.
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:25 (ESV)
What is it that God has been saying to you lately that you have heard but not listened to?
What is it that, if you really listened with your whole brain and heart, you would convert into doing?
I have a few things to do. I’m sure you do, too.
Aren’t those the best canine ears you’ve ever seen?
Her name is Hoka, and she hears everything. 🙂
But, just because she has great ears doesn’t mean she obeys my every command.
Kinda like me and God, hmm? Maybe you and God? Like I said before, I have a few things to do . . . after I’ve listened, that is.
So let’s get to it, shall we? Let’s see what God will do when we perk up our listening ears–then let our hands and feet get busy doing.
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