LISTENING WELL

There are sounds in the Vietnamese language that we English speakers never make. And there are words spelled exactly the same with a very different meaning. With one your voice stays level and with the other your voice inflection must go up or down.
Learning a new language for the first time in 40 years, Jan and I are listening as closely as we can. In fact many times we ask our young tutor to repeat a word and we stare only at her mouth. We want to hear exactly what she says and how she is vocalizing it. This is concentrated, hard listening. We do this in order to learn and to change our pronunciation.
We all know the difference between hearing and listening. Parents sometimes ask a child to repeat their instructions to be certain their child not only heard but listened. Wives sometimes stand in front of the TV in order to make sure that their husbands not only hear, but really listen. Of course the ultimate test of listening is if we respond properly.
Reading in I Samuel this morning, it is noted that the people did not listen to the prophet Samuel. They wanted a king, an official leader. They wanted to be just like the surrounding nations. God wanted them to enjoy a theocracy. He was their King. But they knew what they wanted. When Samuel warned of all the demands a human king would make on their children, they would not listen. And so God gave them a king.
Sometimes we don't listen because we don't care; or because we don't want to hear uncomfortable truth; or we don't want to change; or we want to be just like the people around us. Like the nation of Israel, we may hear (read) what God says, but that does not mean we have really listened.
So Jesus begins a little story by saying, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and (listens) puts them into practice is like a wise man ----." Matthew 7:24 How wise are you?