When I was a child living at home and Dad wanted to lecture me, he would (appropriately) begin the lecture with, “Hey listen!” And Mom stood behind, arms folded, and head nodding. I needed help! 😅
My parents came from post-war Finland and they were of the generation that never spoke back to the elders. There was no “family meeting” or “discussion.” It was, “Hey listen!”
Mom and Dad had my well-being at heart. They didn’t walk over eggshells like we do today, afraid to hurt the feelings of others. They simply told it like it was at the moment, and while they never said these words, their attitude was, “Let the chips fall where they may.”
All these years later I look back and am thankful for the “Hey listen” moments from Dad. He was my father looking out for my good.
Hey listen to the “be” attitudes
Those instructions to listen weren’t invented by my Dad, although he would have liked to take credit. The call to pay attention has a long history.
In the book of Luke 6:20-36, Jesus taught the well-known lesson on the Beatitudes. Hubs and I were in the same youth group years ago and our Youth Pastor began a series on the Beatitudes (my first time ever studying them was way back then) and he called them the “be” attitudes. I thought it was a bit corny at the time but not so much.
Fun fact: our Youth Pastor never finished that series. 🤣
They really are the “be” attitudes; they are the attitudes that we must “be” in life. Bad grammar but you get my point.
If you read Jesus’ teaching on the Beatitudes, He says something very interesting toward the end:
”But I say to you who hear…”
Luke 6:27 (NASB)
There’s a blessing to hearing. God speaks to those who hear. The caveat here is that He doesn’t always say what we want to hear. He says what we need to hear.
Today, God is saying, “Hey listen!” The lessons He may give you might not be easy ones to swallow. But they are the best to follow because God’s intentions for you are the best. There’s no one else like Him.
If you’ve gotten some tough instructions from God (like forgiving someone or speaking peace when others want conflict), follow them. It’s all for your good.
