You Are What You...Hear??

We all know the saying, "You are what you eat."  In a lot of ways I guess it's true.  If you eat big, you will eventually be big.  And if you eat little, you'll become little.  If you eat healthy, you'll stay healthy.  But if your meals are filled with foods that are bad for you...not so much.  And what if the meaning was literal?  I'd be clucking around and scratching at the ground, because chicken is what I eat more than anything.  And at least one of my limbs would be pasta.  My kids would be chickens, too - but they'd be Chick-fil-A chickens...with waffle fries for feet. 

But what if we changed the last word of that phrase from 'eat' to 'hear.'  "You are what you hear."  Think about it.  What do you listen to?  Your kids screaming, "Mommy, Mommy!"  Your husband or significant other calling you, "Sweetie," or "Darling."  Both of these can be considered terms of endearment and can leave us feeling endeared and loved.  But what if you have to listen to your boss all day long in your ear telling you what to do, how to do it, and that that you're doing it all wrong.  Does that make you feel appreciated and respected?  Not so much.  Probably makes you feel more like a slave and leaves you wondering if you're good enough to do the job.  It's very interesting how the things we hear can affect us in such monumental ways.

No, you can't always choose what you hear.  You can't tell your boss to shutup, you don't want to listen to him anymore.  And you can't tell your husband and kids to only speak when they are going to use those endearing terms.  You can't control what others say or how they say it.  But there are alot of times when you can control what you hear.

The Bible reminds us over and over to listen to the truth, and follow it.  Seek out sound advice and obey it.  Listen to wisdom and gain understanding.  My last post was entitled, "Shut Up And Listen."  The only thing is, we have to be mindful of what it is we're listening to.  Just like with what we eat, if we're listening to junk, we're going to turn into junk.  If we're listening to bad advice, we're going to get into trouble.  But if we listen to wisdom, listen to the Truth, and listen to the very voice of God, we can never go wrong.

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise."  ~ Proverbs 19:20

"...Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." 
~  Psalm 95:7,8

"My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."  ~  James 1:19-25