listen & silent

“LISTEN & SILENT

have the same letters.

Coincidence?”

— a t-shirt

My parents loved to tell me about the anatomical ratio of 2:1.

They’d say, “You have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a good reason.  Listen more than you talk.”

In his classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey gave us this as Habit 5: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

The New Testament Book of James irritates some and is adored by others.  For some it has no place in the Bible since it says so little about Christ.  For others, it’s the perfect handbook for living a life that demonstrates the Christian’s faith in tangible ways.  (No big news to you if you know me, but I’m somewhere between those positions.)

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” says James 1:19.  Kinda echoes my parents and Covey.  Or maybe they echoed the Bible. After all, all truth is God’s truth.

And maybe this t-shirt presents more truth that I noticed at first glance and grin:

“LISTEN & SILENT

have the same letters.

Coincidence?”

Let’s let Scripture have the last word: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”