Listen, and Lose the But: II Peter 3-5. (TEN YEARS!)

First Published Tuesday, December 8, 2009

If people spoke less, there would be fewer troubles in the world.

We get into so much trouble, because of what we say. And it isn't so much that we say the wrong things, as it is that we are not interpreted accurately, by our hearers. We all listen through our own biased prisms. A single word may be completely innocent to one person, but hateful to another.

Consider the word "but". I have conditioned myself to cringe a little, when someone says but.

"Oh, those are some good ideas, but . . . "

But is usually followed by something negative, or disagreeable. I read about research that was done on the frequency of use of the word but. It showed that scholarly journals tend to use the word a lot, as do speeches by politicians, and legal arguments made by attorneys. These are professions, you see, that highly value argument. They are always out to win adherents to their own viewpoints. They have to take others down a few notches, therefore they employ the but, to great effect.

Now - an exception can be made when we consider places in which God says but.

"And you were once dead, . . . children born to God's wrath, . . . . But God, rich in mercy . . . " (Ephesians 2).

The word but is used to contradict what came before. We would do well to limit its use in our own conversation.

I hate it when you try to make a comment based on Scripture, and the other person gets mad (because it does not fit their beliefs). How ridiculous! How can we ever learn, or grow, without a willingness to hear some new angle, or insight, from someone else? Can it be that God has placed other people in our lives, to show us these new things? If a person is discussing Scripture, appealing to it as God's inspired word, and they have something to share with you, then listen! Get the word out together, and learn together!

When someone speaks, let it be like God's conversations.

What does Peter mean? What if, in conversation, we treated the other person as though we were speaking to God? What if there are sharp disagreements? Can this be done?

Well, it's going to have to be done!

Peter says we should listen to others, as though it were God Himself speaking. "As you have done it to the least of these . . . "

What wonderful new insights are there for the taking, if we would but listen!!