One of baseball great Yogi Berra’s famous quotes was “you can observe a lot just by watching.” I like to paraphrase his quote by saying, “you can hear a lot just by listening.” Listening is a lost art. We all want to be heard, but no one wants to take the time to genuinely listen. Yet, listening can make our speaking so much more effective.
I have a friend who will ask you a question, but before you have the time to answer it completely he asks another – sometimes totally unrelated – question. Really, a conversation with him can be quite exhausting and usually seems unproductive. Because of this scenario, our conversations are mostly superficial and we never discuss deeper topics and issues.
I believe that God created us with design and intention, and as a result He purposefully gave us 2 ears and one mouth. How would our conversations be different if we listened TWICE as much as we spoke? Consider James’ admonition to us: Read More