Listening without discernment!
The communication process is designed to evoke a desired response from the receiver to the message that is transmitted by the sender. There are challenges that confront us with respect to effective receipt of messages (listening) that are not confined to sender - receiver and transmission distortions. The way we respond to the communication we get is a source of concern. Even on those rare occasions when our listening filters allow us to receive the intended messages intact, our choice of response often leads to undesirable results. The failure to be discerning is a key factor that influences faulty responses to what is being communicated. An example from the Bible helps to illustrate the point.

" Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.'" Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter." 2 Sam 15:10-11

The situation relates to the conspiracy in support of Absalom's plot to overthrow King David. While agents were actively engaged, these two hundred men were brought into the plot as guests at a function and they went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. They were being used and they had no idea of what was happening. An honest appraisal of our own lives will indicate that we too face the risk of active participation in and support of developments about which we have inadequate information. We too may be used as innocent pawns in the game plan of others. Our innocence reflects a lack of discernment that comes from pre-mature closure of the communication process.

We are prone to close the communication process too early, because we sometimes hold the mistaken impression that once a message has been received, the process has ended. However, effective listening involves the critical additional processes of evaluation and personal application. When we terminate the communication process without including those elements we are likely to end up with less than desirable results. Discernment is an essential feature of the evaluation process. It involves the proactive analysis of the message with a view to making a decision as to what we will do with the information (personal application).

Proactive analysis usually requires the search for additional information. Another extract from the Bible makes the point: "If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly." Deut 13:12-14

The onus is on us to inquire, probe and investigate the messages that we receive. It is not good enough to claim ignorance after the event. We dare not be mere spectators to the transfer of information. We must be active participants in our listening. One of the keys to effective listening is the ability to design a mechanism for proactive analysis - inquiry, probing, investigation - that does not arbitrarily deflect or distort incoming messages. It also demands that we allow room for the fact that other thoughts, perspectives and opinions exist and are as much a part of reality as our own position. This does not mean agreement or disagreement, just recognition of existence. When we take this on board, we will hear with greater clarity and be in a position to respond more appropriately.

Trevor Smith

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