Articles
Things We Don't Need to Listen To
Listening is an important skill in the life of a Christian. James 1:19 teaches us to, “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (NKJV). Jesus Himself tells us, “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him” (NKJV). Listening well is important if we are going to grow spiritually and conduct ourselves as wise individuals. One aspect of good listening is being careful not only about “how” we listen but also “what” we are listening to. Mark 4:24 says, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given” (NKJV). As we take heed “what you hear,” what are some of the things we don’t need to be listening to?
We need to avoid listening to false doctrine. False doctrine really picks up anything that is contradictory to what God says. God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, anything which conflict with the word of God must be false rather than true. We do not need to give our attention to such things (1 Timothy 1:3-4; 2 Timothy 2:16-17; Titus 3:9). False doctrine can be really popular at times and it might seem like everyone else is believing it (2 Peter 2:1-2) yet we don’t need to be carried about with every new “trendy” doctrine that arises (Ephesians 4:14). False doctrine can be espoused by people who do not initially appear to be that dangerous. The Bible describes such people as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29). They appear harmless and yet are dangerous. Jesus teaches us we can spot such individuals by examining their fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). When someone is giving us advice which is not in harmony with God’s word, look at the type of fruit it is bearing in their lives. Are there relationships falling apart? Are they married and if they are what is the quality of their marriage? How have their kids turned out? Are they falling apart mentally and emotionally? Look carefully and you will typically find perhaps under the surface the consequences such individuals are suffering for failing to follow God’s word.
We need to avoid listening to those individuals or things which tickle our ears. Paul warned Timothy people would exist who want to have their ears tickled and as a result they will stop listening to sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3-4). People who always tell us what we want to hear are probably failing at times to tell us what we are needing to hear. Sometimes what we are needing to hear is not what we are wanting to hear. The problem of listening to people who tell us what we want to hear is not a new phenomena (Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 5:30-31). Yet it is something we need to avoid listening to. We need to value a godly rebuke which can help get us back on the right track (Proverbs 25:11-12).
We need to avoid listening to things which make us morally weak or provide us with an excuse for sinning. It is easy to want to make an excuse for why we sinned instead of accepting responsibility for our own actions. Adam wanted to blame Eve and Eve wanted to blame the serpent (Genesis 3:11-13). Samuel wanted to blame the people for not utterly destroying the Amalekites and all that was theirs (1 Samuel 15:15, 21). People may want to blame their genetics, their environment, their upbringing, etc. for why they acted in a sinful manner. Yet the Bible teaches, “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14, NKJV). We don’t need to listen to things which will minimize the seriousness or our sins or give us an excuse for sinning.
We need to avoid listening to things which lead us to have sinful attitudes. Maybe there are things we are listening to which stirs up sinful anger in our lives. Perhaps that is something we need to avoid listening to. Maybe there are things we are listening to which make us feel depressed or sorry for ourselves. Maybe those are things we need to stop listening to.
We need to be listening to things which will challenge us, encourage us, and bring out the best in us. Listening to complainers, discouraged individuals, etc. is not going to help you be the sort of person God would have you to be. Perhaps a great verse to describe the sort of things we need to listen to is Philippians 4:8 which tells us what we need to be meditating upon. It says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things” (NKJV). Are we listening to the sort of things which will help us become spiritually stronger individuals?
