A part of being successful in life... is to make it a priority to listen...and this includes God's direction for our lives. People who seem to talk continually...often are not attentive to what others around them might be saying. To make matters worse, the "continual talkers" haven't really thought out what they are saying and end up saying things that are not always accurate.
In the letter by James in the New Testament, James takes time to address issues such as this. This letter is said by most bible historians to have been written sometime between 45 to 55 A.D., perhaps only 15 to 20 years after the Resurrection of Christ Himself. James was an Early Church leader in Jerusalem, and even in this stage of the young Christian church, there were major problems being faced. Gentiles or non-Jewish people were heard to have of faith in Christ Jesus and professed following Him, which was hard for the Christians who were of the Jewish faith to understand. The Gentiles had no background in Old Testament reading and were pretty much clueless as to Jewish customs...which was confusing to the Jewish Christians since Jesus Himself had been a Jew.
The new Early Christian church in Jerusalem were still meeting at the courts of the great Jewish Temple, yet the animosity between the people of the "old" Jewish faith and the new "Jewish Christians" were now in much division.
Things really exploded when the first Christian was martyred...Stephen...and it happened right in Jerusalem. The crazy part about this...the Romans had nothing to do with it...the Jewish leaders of the Temple...did it all themselves. In fact, there is much evidence that points to the fact the Jewish leaders had no authority to kill anyone...including Stephen without Roman authority.
What had happened was widows of Jerusalem who were now accepting the Christian faith, that is to say Jesus is the True Messiah, had encountered a problem. In the Jewish community, there were basically 2 divisions of Jews. There were Hebrew Jews and there were Hellenistic Jews. Hebrew Jews were more strict in reference to their ancestry and their background, and wanted no influence as to their cultural lifestyles...whether it be Roman or Greek. Hellenistic Jews were basically Greek-speaking Jews who had adapted to Greek culture, and were open to a kind of blending of Jewish culture and the Greek way of life.
The Hebrew Jewish Christian widows were receiving aid from the Early Christian believers in their daily needs such as food, clothing, and even monetary assistance. The Hellenistic Jewish Christian widows were not...they were being neglected.
Stephen was a Greek speaking Hellenistic Jew who had converted to Christianity, and because of the argument on the widow aid along with Jewish local people converting to Christianity, ended up being called to a type of court that was officiated by the Sanhedrin, a governing church body of the local Jewish community. The Sanhedrin were Jewish, not Christian, and had Stephen in for questioning as to what was going on and the whole widow situation. It was a set-up from the start...because what the Sanhedrin were really after was the Christian Jews...they wanted them gone...destroyed if necessary. In fact, many Jewish converts to the Christian faith were already leaving Jerusalem and moving into other areas like Asia Minor because of the intense persecution the Jewish leaders had against the Christian Jewish converts.
So, in the Book of Acts, chapter 7, it gives a detailed report as to how and what Stephen said to the Sanhedrin...and why he ended up being stoned. Two things that likely "sealed his fate" was (1) when Stephen referred to the Hebrew Jewish people who did not believe in the Resurrected Christ as a "stiff-necked and uncircumcised people in ears and their hearts, and (2) at the end of his speech Stephen openly announces he sees Jesus,,,standing at the right-hand of the Father.
This led to Stephen's stoning to death...which is said to have been orchestrated by a Saul of Tarsus...who later became Paul the apostle.
Yet, in all this, James remains a leader of the local Early Christian church in Jerusalem. In another report given in a letter to the believers in Corinth, it describes James in this manner as to his relationship to his brother...Jesus. Now, this report given in I Corinthians 15:7 is after Christ had Risen...from the tomb discovered by Mary on that early Sunday morning: "...then, He spent time with James...and later with the other apostles."
And, what is gathered from Jame's meeting with his brother Jesus...it has become evident James listened to what Jesus had to say.
Now, in James letter, he seems to relate the importance of listening to what God says, and emphasizes 3 objectives in doing so:
1) Hearing: Listen to when God speaks to us, listen with your full attention, and don't just "blab to others" what you think He might have said.
2) Listening: As you listen to His instruction, take the time to clearly understand what He is saying and what He is wanting each of us to do. In the letter from Paul to the Philippians, Paul loved this body of believers alot! Philippi was a Roman colony that was made for retired Roman army men who had completed their service in the Roman army. When these guys converted to Christianity, Saint Paul loved these guys...and one reason was...they had disciplined themselves while serving in Roman military...to listen to orders given...and to follow through with those orders.
3) Demonstrate: Follow through with Christ's commands through our daily behavior with others...and don't let the "angers we face daily" thwart us from carrying out His orders
A Gleaning from James 1: 19-27
" My dear friends...who are as brothers and sisters to me...much like I was a brother to the Lord Jesus Himself: take note of what I have learned in being His follower.
First, it is of utmost importance you learn how to listen...and be quick and eager to do so. Those who can master the "Art of Listening" will stay away from getting angry at things that happen throughout the day. Anger that stems from others treating you wrong or doing wrong...is not a Godly anger. Why? Because you haven't really heard the instructions the Lord Jesus has given you. Instead, go over what he has said...again, and listen with an open heart and "all ears", and don't try to figure out or rationalize what you have heard from Him...until you have a chance to digest what He has said ( the Holy Spirit will help you in doing so).
For the truth is, many things that plague us in daily life...are a direct result of not taking the time to listen,,,to really listen and hear the words He has spoken. Instead, because we operate in such haste that leads to frustration and anger, our daily lives are often seen as "spoiled virtues". a cancerous evil that needs thrown in the trash.
The time has come for us to finally dispense of any rampant outgrowth of wickedness, both inside where our thoughts originate, and outside, where our daily reactions to life are seen by others. Replace all the "old stuff" with a simple and pure humility that generates from Him, learn the "Art of Listening". As we incorporate His very Word into our lives, His Words produce a new landscape within us, and allows His Way of Life to take root within us, finding the kind of fruit and produce that is perfectly ripe and ready to be enjoyed by others...not spoiled and only good to be thrown out.
Yet with this being said, I also remind you of this: Don't get caught up with the idea that if you listen to His Words...and the pertinent instructions that may apply to you...and yet you choose only to admire His words of wisdom... with no intention of following through with anything He has instructed you...then you are only fooling yourself into thinking you are a "good Christian". You see, the "Art of Listening" involves much more than that...it must include obedience...obedience to the very words you have heard from Him! Otherwise, you only betray yourself with deceptive rationale, and His Kingdom can not find it's proper place...in your hearts.
The true "Art of Listening" to His Words has 2 distinct features with it:
1) You are ever mindful that listening to His instructions are only of value...if there is a decision with it to obey the instructions given, and 2) you follow through and actually do what He has commanded us to do...making it an everyday practice...in our everyday lives.
Otherwise, your form of Christianity is like a person who so carefully looks at him/her self in a mirror...looking at their facial features, grooming, the clothes they wear, etc....making sure they are ready to go out and face the world each day. We as Christians can be like that...looking intensely to see all the nice things we have done...did everyone see the amount of money I put in the offering, did everyone notice the nice blessings I have...a nice car, a beautiful home, all the success of my my family and children...certainly Heaven can not wait till I arrive!
Yet, this very same person who is so careful to take time in the mirror and admire themselves...walks away and soon forgets themselves and how they are in the "mirror",...and begins to slander others, seeks vengeance, does not forgive, or is not generous ( no one is watching...there is no show for others to see).
Think on this: the "real stuff" that makes a Christian must originate in the heart...it must come from a heart that doesn't seek "the limelight"...and it begins by getting quiet, and learning the "Art of Listening"...anything other than that...is worthless...in His Kingdom."
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