Do Everything With Love
A Mouth That Closes And Ears That Don’t
In
a book called “Letters to Phillip” by Charlie W. Shedd there is a great deal of practical advice for
would-be husbands, and in that book, a particular phrase stood out in my mind:
“God gave man a mouth that closes and ears that don’t, which should tell us
something.” This principle has helped me
in my marriage (sadly, on fewer occasions than I had hoped), but surely other
aspects of my life can also benefit from its practice. I want to briefly mention two of those
benefits.
First, by realizing that our mouths close and our ears don’t, one
can become a better parent. Paul
said in Ephesians 6:4, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to
wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Few things will provoke a child more than to
have his or her words completely ignored.
If you want to get through to your children, listen to them. I don’t mean let them run all over you, for
that is the plight of families all over the world. Just let them know that what they think and
how they feel matters to you.
Secondly,
closing our mouths and opening our ears will help us to serve God
acceptably. “Study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15.) Men will always
have a way that seems right to them. God
says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death.” (Proverbs 16:25.) In His word, God has given instructions for
life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3.) For a Christian, the Bible should be a
sufficient guide. We should not seek to
serve God with ideas that men have set forth.
So when it comes to serving God, close the mouth of self-will and open
your ears to the will of God.
Our
lives would benefit greatly if we would simply remember that God gave us a
mouth that closes, and ears that don’t.