Get To Know Jesus 

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
(James 1:19 - NIVUK)

I think the art of listening is one of the most underrated skills any person (but especially Christians) can have. It is one of the most powerful tools to build relationships and trust, but one of the least used in the world today (if social media, the news, political debates, and human interactions in general is anything to go by).

Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions throughout the day," he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the pattern of my hurry-up style. It was becoming unbearable.

"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, 'Daddy, I want to tell you something and I'll tell you really fast.'

"Suddenly realising her frustration, I answered, 'Honey, you can tell me -- and you don't have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." "I'll never forget her answer:
'Then listen slowly.'"

I think the best thing we can do to build God’s kingdom in the world today is to ‘listen slowly’ like James explains in the reading. Jesus never interrupted anyone as far as we know. Not even the Pharisees and scholars who were arguing against him. Especially not while he was on trial and then crucified. Jesus listened to those he did miracles for without ‘teaching’ them. I like to think he showed his love for them by letting them speak.

So let your love for those around you show by letting them speak and listening to them. Put away your phone. Switch off the TV or radio. Put down the newspaper. Listen to understand (instead of listening to respond).

I came across these helpful rules for good listening:

1. Listen to the other person’s story.
2. Listen to the other person’s full story.
3. Listen to the other person’s full story first.