How do you listen?
One of the tests I remember taking in school was on reading comprehension. Sadly, I wonder how many people actually comprehend what they read. I mention this because of a couple of things that happened recently on Facebook. I commented on a post someone shared and one of the first things I said was that elections are used to remove immoral people, not impeachment proceedings. I had two different people say the very same thing as a rebuttal to my comments which implied that the impeachment was warranted, in my opinion, at least from the Obstruction of Congress point of view, but that's a different story.
The premise of the original post was that our president is an immoral man, but being immoral doesn't constitute a reason for removal from office. I agree with that premise. I disagreed with the idea that his actions don't warrant impeachment, which is a fair argument to have. But when people read my comments, they read them through the prism of making up their own mind about what I'd said before reading and understanding the whole thing.
Another friend of mine shared a meme showing a bedridden elderly gentleman having "one last beer" with his sons before he died. My friend said at the outset that it wasn't his father, it was just a meme he liked. Several people commented that they were "sorry for his loss". Again, reading without comprehending.
If we read like that, how do we hear with an open mind? How do we get past what we think we know to learn what we don't? I know for me it was a big stumbling block for years about getting to a place where I was able to learn about who God says he is over my thoughts about who He was. I think that ongoing adventure is helping me be a better listener.
How about you?
The premise of the original post was that our president is an immoral man, but being immoral doesn't constitute a reason for removal from office. I agree with that premise. I disagreed with the idea that his actions don't warrant impeachment, which is a fair argument to have. But when people read my comments, they read them through the prism of making up their own mind about what I'd said before reading and understanding the whole thing.
Another friend of mine shared a meme showing a bedridden elderly gentleman having "one last beer" with his sons before he died. My friend said at the outset that it wasn't his father, it was just a meme he liked. Several people commented that they were "sorry for his loss". Again, reading without comprehending.
If we read like that, how do we hear with an open mind? How do we get past what we think we know to learn what we don't? I know for me it was a big stumbling block for years about getting to a place where I was able to learn about who God says he is over my thoughts about who He was. I think that ongoing adventure is helping me be a better listener.
How about you?
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