“Listen, Israel! The Eternal is our True God—He alone. You should love Him, your True God, with all your heart and soul, with every ounce of your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, The Voice).

I heard something today that I’d heard before, but it was worth the repeat. I can’t claim any originality in what follows.

The first and greatest commandment that Jesus embraced and taught to His followers is to listen. Not merely take in sound via your ear canals but to actually listen with the intent to comprehend and obey what you hear.

Jesus is saying that the utmost way we show love to God is by listening to Him. Repeatedly, Jesus says, “For those who have ears, let them hear.” In other words, “Pay attention, because this is something you really need to know.”

The greatest way you can show love for someone else isn’t by sacrificial acts of service or by words of affirmation and affection. It’s by listening to them.

I confess that most of the time I’m not the best listener. I can be engaged in a conversation and walk away and not remember the bulk of what the other person said five minutes later. I oftentimes am listening to respond and not to comprehend.

The culture doesn’t encourage listening. It’s more about making your own voice heard and talking over those who don’t share your views and opinions. The art of dialogue is becoming a lost art.

But you gain authority to speak by listening to understand. Above all, you gain wisdom by being attentive to the voice of God and constantly listening to what He’s saying.

“Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen” (Margaret J. Wheatley).