Intentionally Clueless

One of the reasons that I had such a struggle with gossip was the desire to want to know everything that was going on. As the REO Speedwagon song says, "Talk is cheap when the story is good." Hearing about the faults and outrages of others gave me some amount of smug self-satisfaction. But, as I have tried to work diligently on taming my ears, I have discovered two cool things about not listening to gossip. First, those that really love me don't listen to gossip about me and I don't listen to gossip about the people I love. Love always protects. Secondly, it is good to be ignorant about some things. Yes, there is a benefit in being clueless. If someone really wants you to know about a struggle in their life, they'll tell you. If they don't, it may mean that they don't want your help or they have no desire to change. I'm liking this!

We All Want To Be Heard

“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

“Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening. But he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words. One who cannot listen long and patiently will presently be talking beside the point and be never really speaking to others, albeit he be not conscious of it. Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer