The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.
The Lord has opened my ear and I was not rebellious. Nor did I turn away.
Insight: The ability to counsel others is from the Lord, He is the one who will give the right words to say (or not to say) when comforting or counseling someone;
- The ability to listen well is first practiced by listening to God – morning by morning – and being obedient to what He says.
Application: God is able to instruct me on how to be a good listener and counselor. Therefore, I will
-spend time listening to the Lord, everyday
-be obedient to what the Lord tells me to do
-listen well when someone needs and asks for a listening ear
-ask God for wisdom in giving encouragement or counsel to others
Prayer: Lord, give me the passion to hear from you everyday. Give me the gift of listening and teach my heart to be obedient to what you tell me to do. Please help me to practice compassion to others and lead my lips to speak words that will be beneficial to those who hears them.
Nedthur, can you explain more about what you mean by, “...listening to those who may have a different view than the one that I have...”.
Atheists have a different view than me, so do heretics. Yes, I can listen politely to each of these, and I have, but at some point I try to assert the truth to each of them if they allow me.
Little David: I have to listen to and accept other’s opinion and view at work. Different personalities can lead to differing views and manner of working - it’s a good ground to challenge myself to be loving and practice what God commands us to do.
Yes, we should also listen to them and respect them when they speak - and pray that God will open their hearts and their minds to the truth. I believe that arguing and asserting your version of truth (though it is THE truth) will fall on deaf ears if the other person’s heart is not really seeking the truth and just want to argue for the sake of argument.
I’m unsure what you mean by, “...arguing and asserting your version of truth...”.
Since I said nothing about “arguing any particular version of truth” in the context of my last post, I’m confused why you would include that descriptive phrase. Perhaps it was instructive? It’s ok for you to included that, no problem, but I just wondered why.
Nedthur, like many on this forum, you assert “your version of the truth” but you won’t or can’t defend it even if given the opportunity to do so.
This flies in the face of 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...”.
I believe you have the “gentleness and respect” part down, nevertheless, you’re unprepared to give an answer.
You also say, QUOTE: “I have to listen to and accept other’s opinion and view at work. Different personalities can lead to differing views and manner of working - it’s a good ground to challenge myself to be loving and practice what God commands us to do. END QUOTE
I have no idea what you mean by “accepting other’s opinion and view”. Does this mean you “accept” a heretical opinion or view??
I have no idea what you mean by, “ Different personalities can lead to differing views...”. Does that mean atheists have an excuse for rejecting God because of their personalities??
Does ”loving and practicing what God commands us to do” mean keeping silent on non-negotiable issues even if given the appropriate opportunity to speak??
You make some good points here, QUOTE: “Yes, we should also listen to them and respect them when they speak - and pray that God will open their hearts and their minds to the truth. I believe that arguing and asserting your version of truth (though it is THE truth) will fall on deaf ears if the other person’s heart is not really seeking the truth and just want to argue for the sake of argument.” END QUOTE
But you’re apparent misconception regarding the concept of “argument” is similar to that embraced by so many Christians equally unfamiliar with their faith.
In this case, you don’t seem to discern the difference between sinful argument and argument not sinful. Yes, I’m sure that comes as a surprise to other believers as well.
But arguments, just like anger, can be used for bad or for good.
For example, how would you like to hire a lawyer who refuses to “argue” your case before the judge and jury because he thinks all arguing is wrong?
All I’m suggesting is this. Please complete your obedience and your Christian love by immersing yourself more deeply into the word of God and by being sufficiently prepared to give an answer.
As a helpful tip, there are many well-equipped and well-trained pastors and teachers online who can supplement the fledgling efforts of incompetent pastors and teachers if your church has the misfortune of having one of those.
I think Colossians 4:1-6 (NIV) goes well with your original scripture passage. "1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. "
Little David: I work with other Christians in an NGO so my context to listening to other's viewpoints and opinions is that -because I work with other brothers and sisters in Christ and we have the same heart and Spirit - I need to continually learn to be loving towards them, though sometimes we may have differing opinions. You are right in saying that we should be ready to defend the gospel and I do, and the reason I am in a foreign country right now is because I want to share THE truth with those who are yet to hear of it. There might be somethings I wrote in my previous comments that have offended you, and if that is the case, I apologize. You sound argumentative in your replies and I do get offended by them. This is the last time I will be replying on your posts to this thread as additional replies seem to ruin the original intent and message of the post.
Moonlight and Barnowl: Thank you for reading. The original post is about learning to listen to God, then being obedient by lovingly listening to others as well.
The Word of GOD Almighty never changes, it is to be understood by each and every believer the same.
They way the Word is to be applied might be different, but the Word should not be different from person to person.
Messiah did not accept the opinion / understanding of the Pharisees about Himself or the Word of GOD Almighty, so why would you need to accept the opinion / understanding of others, especially if and when they are wrong.
