A man realized that he could not hear very well and that he had to buy a hearing aid.
But he did not want to spend much money on it. So he went to the store and asked the clerk, “How much do hearing aids cost?”
“Well” said the salesman, “it depends. They run from two dollars to two thousand.”
“Let me see the two dollar model,” the man said. The clerk hung a string around the man’s neck. “Just put this button in your ear,” he said, “and stick this string in your pocket.”
“How does it work?” asked the customer.
“It doesn’t work. But when people see it on you, they’ll speak louder.”
Actually most of our communication problems are not due to people speaking too softly, but because most of us are not good listeners.
Big companies know that people want to be listened to. One company uses the motto: “We listen better, and another company says, “We hear you.” As one little girl promised, “I’ll try to listen louder.”
It reminds me of how I listen to God. God speaks clearly through His Word and through the indwelling the Spirit but it is my problem of not listening louder. I need to learn to “turn off” other distracting noises around me so that I can listen to God louder.
May you all practice listening louder and have a wonderful week!