Loving Well Includes Listening Well
I’ve heard it said that loving others well is a mark of spiritual maturity. I would argue that loving others well is the mark of spiritual maturity. I’m not sure I can think of another attribute that compares. Knowledge, education, experience, empathy, and compassion are all worthy qualities, however, they fall short of obeying Jesus’ two greatest commandments to “‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind’...and equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself ’”(Matthew 22.38-39.) In fact, perhaps the real mark of loving God well is indeed, loving others well.
“perhaps the real mark of loving God well is indeed, loving others well.”
Today I recognized a shift in perspective as I’ve been intentional lately to focus on learning to love others well. I was in a meeting and as we circled the table sharing prayer requests, one person began to explain their concern. Rather than a quick overview, they continued for several minutes expounding on what I deemed were unnecessary details. Half-heartedly paying attention while focusing on other matters of the day, I noticed others sharing my sentiment of boredom and the desire to move the conversation along. Suddenly, my mind began to process the scenario through a different lens. Through Jesus’ lens. Rather than selfishly biding my time waiting to move on to more important topics, I allowed my curiosity to kick in and I recalled previous conversations with this person, remembering they often process their thoughts out loud. Rather than assume they wanted to be seen as the important, informed one who knows all the details of the situation, I began to wonder if this person was simply expressing their thoughts to all of us as a means of processing it for themselves. Perhaps they just needed someone to listen so they could grasp the situation and better understand it personally.
It's only been a few days, but I’ve begun to look at other conversations through this new lens. Through Jesus’ lens. Loving well includes listening well. And because I want to be like Jesus, I want to learn to be a better listener. To Jesus and to others.