word4u2day - daily soul food

“The greatest of these is love.” 1Co 13:13 NKJV

Stephen Sample says, “The average person suffers from three delusions: that he’s a good driver, that he has a good sense of humor, and that he’s a good listener. You may succeed in life without the first two, but you won’t without the third.” Are you a good listener? Do you think what you have to say is more important than what’s being said to you? When people talk, do they get the impression you’re not listening? If so, write “LL” on a card, carry it with you and look at it regularly. It means Listen, and Look at people while you’re listening. One study says we hear half of what’s being said, listen to half of what we hear, understand half of that, believe half of that, and remember only half of that. Translate that into an eight hour work day and it means: you spend about four hours listening, hear two hours’ worth of what’s said, listen to an hour of it, understand thirty minutes of it, believe only fifteen minutes’ worth, and remember less than eight minutes – of all that was said in eight hours. Wow, it sounds like we all need to work at listening!

You cannot “connect” with someone if they don’t feel heard and understood. A deaf ear is the first symptom of a closed mind. If you haven’t formed the habit of listening – you aren’t going to get the facts you need. And when you don’t have all the facts, you’re in the dark. Paul writes: “The greatest of these is love.” One of the greatest expressions of love – is the commitment to listen!