Listening

This week I've been reading Job and James. I didn't plan on reading either one of these and don't follow any particular reading plan. However, I remembered reading Job in college and was interested in checking it out again. In college, we talked primarily about the incredible suffering that Job experienced. Here's this good guy who experiences bad things. He loses his fortune, family, and even his own health. Of course, this naturally leads to the question, Why do bad things happen to good people? This question alone opens a big, stinky can of worms. However, as mentioned, I have also been reading James and a verse stood out:

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

Quick to listen, slow to speak. Hmm. I can think of a conversation today at work where I definitely should have been much more quick to listen and slow to speak. Even when I intentionally try to listen, my mind sometimes goes off into a far off land or I fail to clear my thoughts of the seemingly pressing items that just continue to race around my mind.

Back to Job.

Job has these "friends" who visit him. Rather than simply listening to Job or taking the next step and entering into his suffering, they are quick to speak. They are quick to offer reasons for the suffering. They are quick to judge. They are quick to share conventional wisdom.

During a recent conversation, I jotted down two phrases that probably mean pretty much the same thing: listen with anticipation and purposefully listen to others. In order for me to have any chance at listening, really listening to others (including God), I have to constantly remind myself to purposefully listen.