IT'S HOW YOU LISTEN
Take care, then, how you listen; for the man who has will be given more, and the man who has not will forfeit even what he thinks he has. Luke 8:18, N.E.B.
"The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." That's the way it happens in an unfair world, and only the rich think it's a good idea. Yet the verse we are contemplating today seems to put Jesus on the side of that cruel inequity. It has troubled more than one reader, for it seems to be saying that the "haves" will get more, and the "have nots" will have it taken away. If God is supporting such a scheme, we suspect He is playing favorites. Worse yet, He is blessing those who need it the least and depriving those who need it the most.
But Jesus is not dealing here with arbitrary blessings doled out at God's impulses. Rather, He is speaking of those treasures one gets by listening, by hearing the Word of God with faith. The greatest treasure that God could give to the world was the knowledge of His character, of which the world was destitute. Such treasures are available not to the privileged few, but to all who will listen.
The "man who has" obtained his treasures in the first place because he was willing to listen. As he continues to listen he will surely obtain more, for he nurtures that vital quality of teachableness. He has developed such confidence in his Teacher that he accepts whatever He has to offer. A teachable person will be right at home in heaven, for he has learned to love truth and will be eager to go on learning for the rest of eternity.
But Jesus warns against another attitude toward truth. Some have gotten into the habit of saying No to God--of silencing His gentle voice, rationalizing away His sensible counsel, and postponing His appeals. They dodge the clearest statements of reality; thus they become self-deluded. But they shall find in time that their ersatz platform cannot sustain them. In the final crunch they have nothing--no hope, no understanding, no saving relationship.
"Take care, then, how you listen." One trusted author says, "We want to become so sensitive to holy influences that the lightest whisper of Jesus will move our souls." With so many voices clamoring for our attention, so many voices drowning out His gentle appeal, how careful we must be how we listen--and respond!
Take care, then, how you listen; for the man who has will be given more, and the man who has not will forfeit even what he thinks he has. Luke 8:18, N.E.B.
"The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." That's the way it happens in an unfair world, and only the rich think it's a good idea. Yet the verse we are contemplating today seems to put Jesus on the side of that cruel inequity. It has troubled more than one reader, for it seems to be saying that the "haves" will get more, and the "have nots" will have it taken away. If God is supporting such a scheme, we suspect He is playing favorites. Worse yet, He is blessing those who need it the least and depriving those who need it the most.
But Jesus is not dealing here with arbitrary blessings doled out at God's impulses. Rather, He is speaking of those treasures one gets by listening, by hearing the Word of God with faith. The greatest treasure that God could give to the world was the knowledge of His character, of which the world was destitute. Such treasures are available not to the privileged few, but to all who will listen.
The "man who has" obtained his treasures in the first place because he was willing to listen. As he continues to listen he will surely obtain more, for he nurtures that vital quality of teachableness. He has developed such confidence in his Teacher that he accepts whatever He has to offer. A teachable person will be right at home in heaven, for he has learned to love truth and will be eager to go on learning for the rest of eternity.
But Jesus warns against another attitude toward truth. Some have gotten into the habit of saying No to God--of silencing His gentle voice, rationalizing away His sensible counsel, and postponing His appeals. They dodge the clearest statements of reality; thus they become self-deluded. But they shall find in time that their ersatz platform cannot sustain them. In the final crunch they have nothing--no hope, no understanding, no saving relationship.
"Take care, then, how you listen." One trusted author says, "We want to become so sensitive to holy influences that the lightest whisper of Jesus will move our souls." With so many voices clamoring for our attention, so many voices drowning out His gentle appeal, how careful we must be how we listen--and respond!
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