Hear

"It's a rare person to hear what he doesn't want to hear" (Dick Cavett).

Ego is a powerful thing. And when it is shouting, it is hard to hear the voice of God above it.

Our headlines have been full of people who claim to speak for God but carry little evidence that they have actually heard God. We have, again, been witness to man's ego attempting to usurp God's Kingdom, and when that happens, destruction follows. All sorts of evils can be unleashed by the tongue of a man who dares to misrepresent God. "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark" (James 3:5). Though a small spark, things can quickly become enflamed by the winds of modern, global communication. A small man can do great harm.

It wasn't too many years ago that the damage of words was limited to word of mouth. We'd gossip at church or speak ill of our neighbor or call each other names on the playground, but the damage never went very far. Today, a small man leading his miniature empire of 50 people can stir up winds of unrest and hatred the world over. Suddenly, our words have become much more significant.

And dangerous.

It's easy for the self to take over and do the convincing that we are speaking on behalf of God. This is nothing new, however, since the biblical record is full of the stories of false prophets. Although they unleashed damage, false prophets were usually "taken care of" by either God's people or God himself. In our latest example of a man who does not speak for God, we can only hope that the voices of God's people will be heard above his.

I appreciate and respect words, and I love to write them. I know many of the people who read this blog from time to time, and many of them are people I know and trust. Some of them are people with whom I would disagree on a few things here and there, but they are important to me nonetheless. When I write, I think about them. My conscience keeps me aware of my brothers and sisters in faith, and their unwitting presence in my writings keeps me accountable. I know I must think very thoroughly about what I write, and their distant presence in my life causes me to go again and again to the scriptures we love. I do not want to misrepresent.

As a teacher (and husband and friend and pastor, etc.), I know how incredibly destructive words can be. I do those in my life a great disservice when I forget the power of my words and use them for harm. How many people carry with them the scars of wounding words? How much damage has been done by those responsible for speaking life but have instead spoken words of death and destruction?

The false prophets will always be with us (and they will be shouting). How much more important is it that we hear the true Voice of God and speak words of life?

"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not love, I am only a noisy gong or clanging cymbal."

I Corinthians 13:1