How You Listen

Then pay attention to how you listen; for those who have, more will be given, and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away. — Luke 8:18.

The above verse is for me one of the most puzzling. It doesn’t seem fair that those who have a lot will get more, and those who have very little will lose it all. I tell myself I must not be listening the right way.

The more I consider the verse, the more I realize I am listening wrong. When I hear Christ talk about having “more” I am thinking about money and possessions. Jesus seldom talked about material wealth, but instead he tried to get his listeners to think about spiritual rewards. Perhaps if I paid more attention to “how I listen,” I would understand that the more I have a relationship with God, the more that relationship will grow. Conversely, if I don’t have a relationship, what little I seem to have will be taken away.

What do you think?

 

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.