Hearing, Listening and Obedience

One of the first things I learned in higher education is something that I wish had been specifically taught many years before. Maybe they teach it now, I hope so. It is a very simple concept:  hearing is not listening, and listening doesn't necessarily translate into doing.  In today's world very often the words hearing and listening are used interchangeably when they are not actually the same thing.

Hearing is the physical act of hearing someone talk, listening is paying attention to what is being said. This includes comprehension and thinking actively about what is being said. Finally there is the act of doing what is said. In the secular world this is applying the knowledge, when we are talking about Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Spirit this is an act of obedience.

Luke 6:46-49 

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

I don't know if it a change in common usage or a translation aspect (remember these words originally come from Aramaic and Greek). Either way it seems to me that the word hearing here is referring to both aspects hearing and listening.

When we heard the word of the Lord we become responsible for doing what we have been instructed to do. You may recognize these verses as the inspiration for the children's hymn about  The Wise Man and the Foolish Man. It is worth a look again as an adult. We not only have to have a strong faith to build upon our rock but we must act on the knowledge and faith. We are responsible for doing what we have been taught. The rains and the floods will come, if we have acted on what we have been taught we will be the wise man whose house stood firm.

And that leads right back into the first statement Jesus made: "Why do you call me Lord and not do the things I say?"

Naomi and Ruth

Naomi and Ruth

The story of Naomi and Ruth is one we can learn much from.

Naomi was the wife of Elimelch, they lived in the land of Judah and were faced with a famine. Elimelch decided to move his wife and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion to Moab where he thought they would have a better chance to live. In Moab the two boys eventually married and then Elimelech died, and then Mahlon and Chilion died leaving Naomi alone with her two daughter in laws Orpah and Ruth.

Naomi was left with no way to earn money or food, she told the girls to go back to their family, Orpah did. Ruth chose to stay with Naomi.  From Ruth's perspective she is now a widow living with her also widowed mother in law and neither of them have a way to earn a living.

Choosing to stay with Naomi could have been a very hard choice. She was in land with no family and were they didn't know many people. By going home she could have expected an easier life. I think she stayed for two reasons, I think she loved Naomi and I think she had converted to belief in God. 

When Naomi and Ruth arrived back in Judah, in Bethlehem Ruth impressed Boaz with how hard she worked to take care of Naomi. Ruth took care of the house and followed the reapers to gather wheat for food. She didn't beg, she showed character and did not dishonor herself or Naomi.

Ruth is a wonderful example of how to face challenges. The best way to face challenges is with grace, with prayer, without complaining, and working to make your life and the life of those you love better. That may not always be easy. I will not always be fair, but challenges show who you are and what you believe.

I have not been called to make any truly great sacrifices. I have had challenges, I have had to work hard and I have been called to obedience. I gave up coffee without understanding anything truly about the Word of Wisdom other than that is what the Lord and the Prophets said. I gave up tea and that was actually harder than coffee.   I am now trying to learn financial obedience with tithing. I don't compare that act of obedience with challenges anyone else has faced. But I do know that as I have faced my challenges, financial, and work and others that I hope I met them as Ruth did. With grace, and without complaining.