Too many of us are more interested in talking than we are in listening. There is nothing wrong with wanting to talk, but if all we want to do is talk and not listen, then it seems to me we do have a problem.

I’m often disappointed by conversations I hear about and read about from politicians in Washington, D.C., Bible and theology scholars, Christian authors, leaders of church denominations, church members, friends, and family members. So much of the time there is much more talking than there is listening. The last couple of weeks I read two articles that challenged and encouraged my thinking in this area.

One was a review of a book dealing with a controversial subject among many Christians who take the Bible seriously. Early in the piece the reviewer made an observation about the author that caught my attention.  Reviewer Tim Challies notes about the book that the book’s “dedication proves that Schreiner [the author] means to speak as a friend to friends. An eminently gentle man, he never comes close to being harsh or offensive. He very much wants to position this as a discussion between friends of secondary importance.” At the end of the review Challies notes the author’s affection for his disagreeing friends is a regular theme and “he gladly offers them every benefit of the doubt.”

Think about some of these insights. Wouldn’t it be helpful and contribute to many of our conversations if we spoke as friends, if we were somewhat gentle refraining from being harsh or offensive, and if we more often gave those with whom we were conversing the benefit of the doubt?

The other article I read that primed the pump for me in thinking about conversation asked the question “Can You Hear Me Now?” In the heading of this article in Christianity Today author Nathan Betts suggests “In an age when most are rushing to have their say, Christians can love by giving others a hearing.”

Betts’ basic point in his article is that many times we stop listening to those who do not agree with us and begin formulating our arguments to respond. Instead of listening to what is being said we listen for what they might say. He suggests that “Listening to another person implicitly says, ‘I want to learn from you even if I don’t agree with you’.”

I think Betts is correct when he postulates that “Perhaps one of the reasons many of us find it difficult to listen in conversations is because genuine listening take more work and critical thought.” My personal experience in these kinds of conversations is that listening also requires a great deal of patience. It’s usually not just us who is not listening to what is being said; our discussion partner often is doing the same thing.

I completely agree with Betts’ conclusion that “one of the most significant ways we can navigate tough conversations is to ensure that each person in the conversation is heard.” Unfortunately, we cannot ensure we are being heard, but we can do our best to ensure the person we are speaking with is being heard.

Having been challenged by both articles, in my conversations I want to be more like the author of the book Challies reviewed and a better and more understanding listener Betts calls for. How about you?

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