May 23 - Ready To Listen.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”
 
God has a reason for everything. He gave us two ears and one mouth. Perhaps it is because we should listen twice as much as we speak. Our passage today refers to listening and speaking within the house of God, and within His presence.
 
As he writes of the vanities he learned within his aged years, Solomon exhorts us to be aware that before we enter the church house we should prepare our hearts and ears to listen to what God has for us to hear. We are to “be more ready to hear”; he knew that listening was important.
 
How often are we too distracted by our murmurings and disputings to really hear the message that God has given the preacher?
 
In a high technological society, our cell phones often distract us during a service. Text messages and social media notifications do not stop when we enter the sanctuary. We sit in the pew “ready” to worship our Lord, and tend to be more in tune with the notifications than we are with what God has for us during the service. Does God need to send us a text message to get our attention?
 
Many times when we are more concerned about what we “have to say” than what we need to hear. God wants us to listen. God wants us to hear Him.
 
James 1:19
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”
 
Take note of the ratio of how much you hear and how much you say today. Ask God to help you realize when you need to listen.
 
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Bible Reading:
II Samuel 9-10  |  I Corinthians 11  |  Psalm 113