A Hearing Ear

I'm currently re-reading a book called "Summoned to Lead", by Leonard Sweet. It's not your typical leadership book that is packed full of facts about what makes a person a better leader. It is much more fluid than that, and it challenges me to see past the facts of leadership and see into the art of it instead.

His emphasis on being a person who has a tuned ear to hear over a person who has a keen eye to see is really touching something deep inside me, and I'm beginning to realize how important this is.

Think about it, what is more crucial to our lives, the ability to see or the ability to hear? The eyes are easily deceived in so many ways. Magicians are passionately involved in slight of hand, the ability to fool the eyes. People have learned and mastered the art of "pulling the wool over the eyes" and constructing a false reality that they want others to see while hiding who they truly are.

The ears on the other hand aren't as easily fooled. When you truly learn the art of hearing, you can easily hear past the walls that people construct out of insecurity and such. Perhaps this is why Jesus said over and over, "He who has ear to hear, let him hear."

Here's a good practice for all of us from time to time in training our ears to hear...the next time your at the beach, the mall, church, wherever (just don't do it while your driving), shut your eyes and just hear. Hear the sounds all around you, the chatter, the low noises, the high frequencies, the humming of lights, the joy, the pain, the laughter and the crying. Concentrate on how it effects the way you see once you reopen your eyes.

Practicing the art of hearing would make us much better builders of the kingdom of God. We tend to get blinded by all that we see in the world around us, and often this makes us cold towards the very people we are called to reach. Being able to hear past what we see, will make us much more effective in seeing lives totally transformed for Christ.