Healthy, happy families need to communicate. Communication begins with the art of listening.
One would think we would all have mastered the art of listening. Listening is essential to family life. Listening appears to require no effort or skill. So, why are we not good as listening? Listening is difficult. Listening is difficult because love is difficult. When we listen, as when we love, it is no longer about us. When Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves, that included listening to them. Listening is difficult.
We can improve our ability to listen to the people in our family. We may not be good at it, but we can get better. Three suggestions. First, eliminate distractions. We live in an age of distractions. We can listen better when our attention is not diverted elsewhere. Second, get feedback. Ask the person who is talking if what you heard is what they really said. It is amazing how often we receive a different message than what was intended. Third, take turns. It may feel artificial, but if you tend to talk over each other, appoint a separate time for each of you to talk. The art of listening is like any art. It can be developed if you work at it.
In our sermon this Sunday we will be talking about the art of listening.