James 1:22 Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! (The Message)
The word listen means to concentrate on hearing somebody or something or to pay attention to something and take it into account. (Entourage Dictionary)
As I look back over my life, I ask myself these questions. Did I listen to my parents when I was growing up or to my teachers in school? Did I listen to my bosses explain what my job was about? Did I listen to what God ever tried to tell me? Probably not the way I should have and probably just enough to get by.
And I know I still am guilty of not listening. A friend may need to tell me something for my own good in order to help me get well, but I'm afraid it will hurt too much and most of the time my fears are stronger than my reasoning. Even if it's done in love, I'm afraid of hearing their words and of being hurt and so I don't want to listen.
I'm probably like that with God as well. When God speaks to us directly or through other people, we must listen and pay attention to their words and apply those words to our lives when we first hear them and not wait until it's too late. It could be like wanting to listen to the flight attendant give the safety message as the plane crashing. An emergency is not the time to listen. Better to listen to the message in the first place.
Nancy