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The fact that God gave us two ears and two eyes and only one mouth should give us some indication on how he expects us to use them.
“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;” (James 1:19).
John Maxwell once wrote, “A funny thing happens when you don’t make a practice of listening to people. They find others who will. Anytime employees, spouses, colleagues, children, or friends no longer believe they are being listened to, they seek out people who will give them what they want. Sometimes the consequences can be disastrous: the end of a friendship, lack of authority at work, lessened parental influence, or the breakdown of a marriage.”
How many times in the Bible do we read the phrase “he who has ears let him hear”? That because listening is as vital of a skill as it as need. People want to be listened to and we need to listen to them.
If talk twice as much as you listen, the ratio is off.
Barry Haynes
Hope church of Christ
Hope, AR