People are longing to be heard right now.
Pain and suffering are evident everywhere we look. We are inundated with information, opinions, and crises. Our world sits in a state of brokenness as we wait for Christ’s return. So, as believers, what do we do? Where do we even start?
In her recent blog post, How We the Church Should Respond to Racism, author Taylor White gives some exceptional tips on how we should respond. One of the things Taylor mentions is that we must listen. Let’s dive deeper to examine this topic a little more closely because, I believe, responding well to others starts with listening.
“Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” (James 1:22)
We must listen first. So... how can we listen well?
Pay Attention
Listening is more than passively hearing. Listening is active and results in people knowing they have been truly heard. We listen to understand and doing so well affirms value to the one speaking. Active listening means not just hearing sound, but focusing on the person and their message.
Look at the speaker’s facial expressions, their body language. Listen to the tone in their voice. We must put down the phone, turn off the TV, make eye contact. We let someone speaking know we care about them and what they’re saying by the type of attention we give them. Paying attention to the speaker means we are giving them our full focused attention and letting them know they are worth the time and effort.
Respond
Our responses to one another can and need to look different based on the speaker’s message. Sometimes our response may be to immediately enter into a conversation with a follow up comment or question. Sometimes we need to simply acknowledge that we have actively listened and heard the speaker's heart - a nod of the head, verbal affirmation or touch. Sometimes our words need to be minimal yet our actions need to reveal what we heard. Other times, we may need to respond with a comment like, “I need some time to think about this and get back to you.”
Our responses to one another should vary, but we must be intentional to respond well. And we must respond in light of the gospel. As image bearers of Christ and therefore His ambassadors on this earth. Our response should be full of grace, love, and compassion.
We must make sure that the voice we are listening to most attentively is that of Christ. We must listen to His Truth and look to His example before we act. John 8:47 states, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.” We cannot listen and respond well if our hearts are not aligned with His Truth. So, let’s dig deep into His Word and gospel message as we strive to be better listeners
Meet the Author!
Casey Yates is a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend and speech-language pathologist. Casey loves all things Christmas, British historical fiction, walks, pie and coffee. Lots of coffee.
