My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
James 1:19 (CSB)
Every month of 2020, we will feature the Love Over All theme verse on the first Sunday of the month. We love everything about Love Over All (read more about it here) and can’t wait to share these amazing verses and ways to live them out with you!
March’s theme is Love Listens.
As a kid, did you ever hear the phrase, “There’s a reason you have two ears and only one mouth!”? Or perhaps, as an adult you’ve heard (or said), “Measure twice, cut once?” If you have, consciously or not, the deliverer of that message was speaking the truth of James 1:19.
For some of us, this is nearly impossible. Quick to listen, slow to speak. Measure twice, cut once. But love listens because love first seeks to understand. At it’s core, that’s all listening really is: caring enough to try to understand before responding.
This month, may we be committed to the art of listening well. For those who are quick to listen, have patience with the talkers. Measuring twice is hard for some of us, and it takes practice. Thank you for modeling well the heart of Love Listens; we promise, people see you and people see God’s love in you. For the talkers: breathe. Let others speak until they’re finished, jot down what you want to say, then wait to say it. Intentionally let someone else speak first. And as for the slow-to-anger part of these verses in James . . . that’s much easier to do when we are first quick to listen and subsequently slow to speak.
Love listens to understand. Love listens to grow. Love listens to strengthen.
Love Listens.
[bctt tweet=”Love listens to understand. Love listens to grow. Love listens to strengthen. #lovelistens #loveoverall #inloveoverall” username=”incourage”]
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(in)courage,
I know I need to listen intentionally when others speak instead of preparing my rebuttal in my head while they are still speaking. I am trying to catch myself from jumping in before the other person is finished. Good reminder.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Bev, we all could do better at this!
I have to admit I am not a good listener. Not so much from speaking too quickly but from a wandering mind and distractions…can I get a “look! SQUIRREL”?! Thank you for this post and the reminder of how important true listening is. I will take this to heart to be intentional in my listening. Thank you so much, and have a blessed Sunday!
In Courage,
Patience is a virtue that I have to master. God has put me to the test on that one. Dealing with aging parents was hard & it took more patience to let them do their thing-no matter what. Each week I would visit him in the assisted living. We would go sit on porch & watch traffic go by or take a walk around for exercise. A lot of times we would sit & watch TV. The hard parts were when he had to go to hospital & I had to wait & see what the outcome would be or trying to talk with him-(he couldn’t hear good). Add to that he had severe dementia. So patience I learned. Now working with some elderly patients, RNs & CNAs I have patience for everyone. I understand their jobs are hard, especially the families of those patients. I do my best to be quiet & let others have their say. My comments can wait till they are finished. It is so impolite to interrupt people. Go ahead have your say. I will wait & listen!
Blessings 🙂
Oh how I needed to read this!! I need to write this on my heart!! Thank you for this!