I have noticed something a lot lately.  Everywhere you go, you can always hear people complaining about something.  And if for some reason you don’t, it’s probably because you’re the one doing it. Continue Reading…

Have you ever truly thought about the phrase, “well…I’m just preaching to the choir?”  I’ve probably heard it said hundreds of times, and I’m sure I’ve even used it myself.  But I thought about something lately that really bothers me about that phrase.

From my experience in churches that had choirs, half the choir was either zoned out or falling asleep when the pastor was preaching.  It really was quite comical actually.  It never failed that someone (typically multiple older men) would be nodding off during the sermon.  We used to get a kick out of it growing up, especially when they would snore and wake themselves up.  Did that happen at your church?

Why do I bring it up?  Because the message you have to say probably needs to be repeated.  Don’t assume that you have said what you needed to say enough and that people have bought in to what you are saying.  Keep casting your vision and dreams.  Keep it fresh in their minds.  Keep preaching to the choir…they may have been asleep anyways.

Here’s my 22 month old doing one of his favorite things: listening to David Crowder Band while singing and playing his guitar:

This week I got a startling reminder of how quickly our lives can end.  Early this week, a friend of mine who was only 20 years old lost his life in a car accident.  It’s always such a tragedy to see someone lose their life at such a young age.  It hits even closer to home when it’s a young man who God obviously had his hand on and was working through.  It triggers questions in our minds about how God could allow something like this to happen and why it happened.  It’s only natural to question, and honestly, we typically don’t get the answer we were looking for.

So what are we to do in situations like this?  I really don’t know completely but here are some things off the top of my head that I’m choosing to do and take from this and similar experiences:

• Celebrate the life that Brandon lived.  He may have only got 20 years on earth, but God did more through him in that short time than a lot of Christians experience in their long life.
• Celebrate the life that he is now living.  In the words of another friend, “I can’t even imagine the things you are seeing right now. and i must say… i am jealous.”   Brandon is seeing first hand what a lot of us live for. (Wow…I totally quoted Joey West)  I thank God that he had already experienced God’s love here on earth so he can continue to experience it forever.
  
• Mourn.  It’s OK to mourn.  It’s part of our healing process.
• Hug those that I love more.  Tell them that I love them more.  Play more.  Laugh more.  Cry more.  Basically, just enjoy the time that I do have with my family and friends because it can’t be taken away in an instant.
  
• Most importantly, I am reminded to share Christ with everyone around me.  I have to look for more opportunities to show and tell others about what makes me tick….and what makes them tick, too, but they just haven’t discovered or accepted it yet.

What have you learned from experiences like this?

What do you do when you face criticism/advice/”wisdom”/blowing hot air from people who don’t have your best interests at heart or whose opinion really doesn’t matter? Personally, I have chosen to put in the earplugs and ignore them.

For example, yesterday I had a conversation with a man who decided to bash me personally and let me know about how wise he is.  Should I take his comments personally?  Absolutely not.  And to be quite honest, it really didn’t bother me in the least bit.  Why?  I’ve decided to put in the earplugs and not listen.  It wasn’t worth my time or attention to argue with him nor worthwhile to bash him back.

Here’s why I chose not to listen.  I know who God has called me to be and what he’s called me to do.  God has made in blatantly obvious through His word, through godly counsel, and through circumstance to make it known what it is that He wants me to do.  I know that my worth is found in Him and not in the “wisdom” of someone who has no concern for my life.  Heck…the countless advice and encouragement that I have received from godly men vastly contradicted what he had to say.

I really think that God prepared me a lot this week for this conversation because I had just read and listened to some things that spoke directly about this topic.  For example, did you realize that in Mark 5:36, Jesus himself decided to put the earplugs in by “ignoring what they said.”  Steven Furtick brought this to my attention in this incredible post and said “if any voice is raising itself in contradiction to the will and Word of God concerning you, be like Jesus” and “ignore what they said.” (You absolutely need to check his post out)

So who do we listen to?  I can’t tell you the exact people, but perhaps another pastor, Troy Gramling, said it best in this talk. He said that there are three types of people you should listen to: those who love you, those who believe in you, those who know more than you.  Incredible advice if you ask me.  And if they constantly remind you of how wise they are, grab the earplugs.

Simply put, there is a ton of value in listening to other people.  But practice selective hearing.  Listen to God first and foremost and listen only to those who fit the criteria above.   Are you with me?