Seek. Love. Serve.

Have you ever met a person and wondered: What planet did she come from?

When I was in junior high, I had a teacher like that. She was a very sweet lady, but she was “out there.”

She taught some sort of required health and wellness class, but she concentrated on very odd things.

For example, she would start the class off by having us do finger exercises.

Why finger exercises?

I did them every day in her class and I have absolutely no clue.

I know she meant well, but I’m sorry to say I just didn’t get very much out of her class — except one thing.

She taught us to listen.

She taught us how to focus on people when they were talking to us. She taught us how to look them in the eye. She taught us that by focusing and making eye contact we were showing we cared about the subject being discussed and we were able to better absorb the information.

That one lesson was incredible because it was applicable.

I used my listening skills in the classroom when I was a student. I used them in the workplace. I’ve used them in job interviews. At church. On the street. At the ball field. Everywhere. (Except at home, according to my wife).

Have you ever tried to talk to someone without having their attention? Maybe they’re looking at a computer screen. Maybe they’re … ahem! … texting. It’s frustrating to you as the speaker. When we share our stories with people, we hope they listen to us.

On the flip side, when people share their stories with us, we need to listen.

This is not always easy for me. I find that I really have to concentrate on listening. My mind moves so fast that I’m always thinking of things to say. And I’ve often had to apologize for dominating the conversation — offering unsolicited advice or turning the subject from them to me.

Listening can lead to sympathy, empathy, opportunity, and action.

Jesus was an active listener. When people spoke to him, he heard them and he followed up with them.

Listening is a skill that we all need to develop. It shows we’re acknowledging and investing in people with our time and our attention. If we fail to listen, we can find ourselves missing the needs of others, missing out on ministry opportunities, or missing a cry for help.

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