Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:9
I was trying to impart wisdom to some kids after three walked into my room arguing about who was the cutest. Once they took a seat, I started teaching, “Looks don’t determine how cute you are even though you all are adorable. It’s your choices that determine how cute you are. Who you are on the inside. Good choices are what draws good people to you. They’re what can give you a good life. I want you guys to
have a good life and that’s 99.9 percent dependent on the choices you make.”
The first kid,who had been staring intently at me, asked the first question, “Who painted that picture behind you?”
Before I had time to answer, the second piped up, “How much longer until we leave?”
And then while my head was still spinning the third, who had been in trouble all week, interjected, “I’m the cutest!”
Do you ever feel like no one is listening? I do and before I freaked out on those children the other day, I thought about how Jesus must feel every time I do the same thing.
Jesus: Help the poor.
Me: That’s awkward and I don’t want to enable anybody.
Jesus: Forgive your enemy.
Me: I don’t think you realize how bad they are.
Jesus: Go, teach, make disciples, and baptize them in my name.
Me: What if I just show up to a church building a couple times a week instead?
Jesus: Love your neighbor.
Me: But what if they’re really weird?
Jesus: Turn the other cheek.
Me: You’ve got to be kidding.
Jesus: Your citizenship is in Heaven.
Me: If we don’t vote for the right candidate,we’re all doomed!
Jesus: If they’re not against us, they’re for us.
Me: Well, you can fellowship them but I’m not. They do church wrong.
Jesus: Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Me: They better treat me that way, too!
Jesus: Be a servant.
Me: I’m exhausted.
I couldn’t be too upset with the kids because I do the same thing,and so do you. Jesus is talking but we aren’t listening. I was reminded of this again when I sat down with a friend who was telling me how much she hates to wait tables on Sunday. She even asked her boss if she could have Sundays off.
Let that sink in for a minute.
What have we done? We certainly haven’t been listening to the one we claim to follow because if we have, Sundays would be the best day of the week to work. Employees would beg to work on Sundays. The customers would be great. The tips would be greater.
But no. Instead the words she used still echo in my head. Rude and impatient. Lord, have mercy.
We talk a lot about why the church isn’t growing. We talk about wanting to do mission work and how we want to make the world a better place, but maybe we need to start with being nice to our waitress on Sundays. Maybe we need to get out of our nice buildings and be the people we pretend to be while we’re there. Maybe we need to plant ourselves in the middle of those neighborhoods we avoid and learn how to love people. Maybe we need to stop being so wrapped up in our own needs and wants that we fail to serve those around us. Maybe we need to hear Jesus when he tells us that this life isn’t about us. It’s about choosing to love him and others.
Church, we need to start listening.
Paula and her husband, John, work with the Lone Oak Church of Christ in Western KY.
She is compiler and editor of the books, Once Upon a Bible Class, A Common Bond, and
A Sunday Afternoon with the Preachers’ Wives. Her work has appeared in Christian
Woman magazine, the Christian Chronicle newspaper, and numerous other sites and
websites. A preacher’s kid, grand-kid, niece, and sister, she occasionally speaks at
ladies events, conferences, and lectureships. She can be reached at
harringtonseven@yahoo.com.