Character of Attentiveness

How is your ability to listen?  I must admit that mine sucks at times.  I sometimes get caught up in what I'm doing (typing on the computer) and then all of a sudden I realize that I've been saying uh huh without knowing what I'm saying uh huh to and then the question..."you know what I mean?" happens.  I have to say...could you start over?  Lordy!  Sorry Bobby :-)

I do know that when I look at the person that is talking and give them my full attention, they will open up and share more things than you ever wanted to know.  I've even had that happen in interviews, when I'm supposed to be questioned about my talents and abilities.  The tables are surprisingly turned and all of a sudden, the person interviewing me is telling me their life story.  It is interesting how that can happen when you really listen to someone...they want to share their heart with you.  Everyone has a desire to be heard.  When someone doesn't listen to you, the feeling wells up within you that...they do not care.  It is a lot like being loved...so we should really take listening to others seriously.

As a Christian, our foundation is the Lord and He equips us to help people with whatever they need.  Everyone has emotional, physical and spiritual needs...as Christians we should do what we can to meet those needs.  The first step in doing this is to be attentive to them as they share their heart with us. 

I realize that some folks talk just to hear themselves talk, but sometimes it is their way of just being heard!  They may have a complex because for some reason in their lives they were made to feel what they said just wasn't important.  We could try to help by listening to them, and then letting them know that they can get past those feelings of self loathing. 

My point is, everyone comes from a different place, but all have the same thing in common...the need to be heard!

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