LISTENING AS GIVING II

I continue to process some thoughts from yesterday’s Journal on listening and giving.

When as Christians we think of giving, it is invariably about giving money. There is good reason for this since it is emphasized so much and so often by anything connected to anything ‘Christian.’ It is as if giving… only means money. There are other kinds of giving.

For the disciple of Jesus, the first kind of giving is forgiving. Learning to forgive means to listen to our own heart, mind and spirit concerning others. For: is a function word to indicate purpose and intended goal. Give: is to put into the possession of another. To grant pardon by forgiveness is to gift both parties with release.

Another form of giving is to ‘not give.’ Rather, after listening to a situation, Jesus taught bluntly, “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6; also 2 Peter 2:22 and Proverbs 26:11). A real gift is the discernment to listen to situations and know when to ‘not give’ the precious message of the Gospel to those who don’t want it. There is also a time not to give precious money as well.

The normal range of giving principles is to give our time, talents, possessions, counsel, ideas and money. If we process carefully, we will know that listening carefully to every situation is as important as responding by our gifts.

“Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given…and you will receive even more.” Jesus