Listening
When you live in community you need people to listen to, as well as people that just listen. When you show interest in someone by listening it is the beginning of love for a brother. Often people forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. You don’t always need to contribute something, sometimes contribution looks like listening, or being silent. It can be the greatest service to a community, especially in the beginning stages. If you can’t listen to a brother then chances are you will no longer be listening to god either - this can be the beginning of death in a community and in your own personal walk with the Lord. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. He will constantly be interrupting and canceling our plans. We should listen with the ears of God so that we may speak with the words of God.
In your own personal walk with the Lord, it is a key thing that you listen to what he is saying. Often times we forget that it's really a two way conversation with the Lord rather than us just word vomiting on him. I find it key in the natural as well. When you find someone that's a mile wide but an inch deep, you probably won't want to hang out with them. Although when you find the true treasure of someone who is an inch wide and a mile deep, then you will never want to let go of that person. A deep well that we store up by listening can only be obtained by the one who created us. It's an art to comprehend, to not talk and simply listen. We all have our own insecurities, where as some people really don't like silence so they fill it with the noise of talking. If you're the type of person that doesn't like silence then do you really like yourself? Are you comfortable with yourself? Often times people aren't comfortable with themselves so they cover it up with talking and being loud and obnoxious. When really we just need to shut the front door and listen.
