Did you ever believe that if you could just get closer, you will hear better? Many times that is what we believe, or at least hope is true.

I remember when I first saw the RCA “Victor Dog”, coined as “His Master’s Voice“, sitting by the amazing new technology. I thought, “If I could get that close to God, I would really be able to hear Him.” But is close really the answer?  Sometimes when we get really close to what we want to hear, it does not really help, and it can even make it more difficult.
So just like when I was young and I thought getting closer to God was all I needed to be able to hear Him better, that was not the best answer. You can move close to someone, but without a relationship with them, you will not hear better; in fact, it can be dangerous.
When my husband and I would be at a party, I could hear him say from across the room, “Hey Babe, you ready to leave? I am.”  And I would move toward the door only to find him already there waiting on me.  Relationship is the key to hearing clearly, and technology cannot and will not ever replace relationship.
Here are 3 dangers in drawing closer to hear without a foundational relationship.
Misunderstood:  When we hear something without the filter of relationship, it can be received into our emotions with a slant or incorrect intent.

Example: We see this often happening in email communication.  Emails can be misunderstood so easily without a relationship between the sender and receiver. Just having their email is not enough to correctly communicate more than facts; a relationship is necessary.

Incomplete: Many times when we are waiting to hear from someone and they finally begin to speak, we do not wait long enough to receive the fullness of what they are saying.

Example: Some really wise people have a deliberate speech style. If we do not have a relationship with them to know that if we will just wait “a little more”, we may end the conversation before getting the best or richest part of the conversation for which we long.

Missed Purpose: If we do not have a relationship with a person that we are looking to for instruction or direction, we can miss the purpose or design of what they say.  When we know someone we can quickly discern if they are information gathering or conversing with us.

Example:  If we take information gathering as conversation, we may leave disappointed.  And if we interact as an information gather when they are looking for a conversation, they will lose interest and purpose will be missed. Having a relationship guides us in and through times of both information gathering and great conversation.

It is my desire to inspire you to handle hearing gently and know when we need to move in close to hear and when we need to take the time to build relationship before moving closer.

When friendship is built, it lays a foundation for rich, sweet, powerful and purposeful dialogue, up-close or from a distance.

In what relationship do you hear best? Share your story by clicking, here.

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