Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
“Listen to my instruction.” I hear that phrase and it makes me think of what it's like to be a parent. There are many instances throughout the day where with my three kids, I'm hoping that they will follow instructions, and there are different days where maybe I feel like there's been a success in our administration of instructions and they're following, but if I'm completely honest, there are usually more times where as a parent, I'm giving instructions and my child is not responding the way that I would hope.
When I see this verse and I think about the essence of what it represents, it's really important to me because I see in my kids what I see in myself. When I think about God saying to listen to My instruction and be wise, I think one of the things that I've learned about my children is sometimes there's a difference between hearing and listening.
Hearing Without Listening
What I mean by that is sort of in this story. Imagine I go to my son and he's watching television, and I say, "All right, you can keep watching TV after you pick up your socks from the floor and put them in the laundry." He looks at me and he hears what I said, but he continues to watch TV.
So I left the room thinking he was going to do what I instructed him to do. When I come back and I see the socks are still there, he's still watching TV. I say again, "Hey buddy, you can watch TV, but you have to pick up your socks first and put them in the laundry." This time I stand there and wait.
Again I can tell that he heard me. Was he really listening? What I realize is no. Finally I say, "Buddy, do you hear what I'm saying to you?" He says, "Yes," but isn't it ridiculous? Because ultimately what his actions are showing me is even though he heard auditorily in his ears, the noises of my words, he didn't listen to what I said. If he listened, that would have been represented by action, right?
He would have gotten the instructions, heard what I said, listened to them, and did what I told him. That would be wise. The reality is, sometimes it's possible for us to hear auditorily what we are hearing and not respond in our hearts.
God's Instructions to Us
This is what this instruction really gets at, and I think some of us can relate to this reality in our own lives as it relates to God. That's why I look at this and I think about my kids, and I'm actually really challenged in my own faith journey, because I know there are things at times that God is telling me either through His Word or through prayer, or through the encouragement of my brothers and sisters at church or in my community. He's saying things to me that I know I should respond to.
Even though I hear them or I read them, I might not actually do what He says. My encouragement to all of us is that we would pay attention to those places in our journey. Maybe God is saying something to you in this season that you've been hearing, but not responding to. When we do so, we are wise.
True Wisdom
There's a difference between being smart and being wise. When you're wise, that means you know that the implications of the thing that you are considering means something beyond just what's in your head. It actually involves your heart. The way you're living your life will look different as a result of your hearing and listening and responding.
