Hearing Problems
Have your ears ever gotten you into trouble?
While we’re aware of times when our words, thoughts or emotions have gotten us into trouble, we seldom think of the problems caused by our ears. All too often we passively listen to things that pollute or poison us, not realizing the damage being done and the consequences that come.
Think of situations when things you’ve listened to have hurt you. Consider the times you tune into:
Gossip that soils your perspective of a good person.
Demeaning words that crush your spirit and damage your soul.
An offense someone shares with you that you embrace and allow to became your offense too.
Distracting voices that pull you from your God-given duties and assignments.
Dirty stories, jokes and profanity that contaminate your mind.
Entertainment lyrics and messages that dishonor God and disrespect people.
Voices of skeptics, cynics and critics that undermine your faith and faithfulness.
Incendiary rants of angry, bitter people that inflame your anger, fostering bitterness and hatred in you.
The reality is, what you listen to, or refuse to listen to, is critical to your spiritual success. Your ears are a gate to your heart. What you open your ears to makes its way into your spirit and soul. And it absolutely affects what you think, say and do. It programs many of your responses to life.
Look at what Jesus said:
"… Consider carefully how you listen … — Luke 8:18 (NIV)
As surely as we should guard what we say, we should guard what we hear. To keep ourselves free from spiritual pollutants and poisons, we must be very careful about what we allow to pass through our “ear gate.” Remember, whatever goes in, ends up in our heart!
As we were taught in Sunday School — “Be careful little ears what you hear!”
Dale O'Shields
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