Little Ears, Big Mouth by Maria Hartman

My kids absolutely crack me up. Yesterday morning I asked my 11 yr old son Joey to do a morning devotion with his sister Grace, who is 5 yrs. old. Joey is the kind of kid who has such a sweet spirit; he loves to please and to serve and has a sensitivity to the things of God. Grace on the other hand is very different. She is my little love bug and can be so tenderhearted, but she is very melodramatic and oh so loud!

Although I usually do the morning devotions with both of them, Joey has stated on several occasions that he knows God wants him to be a pastor. So I figured this would be a good way for him to get an early start, even if it is for an audience of one. But despite the number, it's still a tough crowd. It is so rare that my daughter is ever quiet, yet I cling to the hope and remind myself that with God all things are possible.

This is what took place in our home just the other day. I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher when I heard Joey ask her some questions about what he had shared. A minute later he comes out of the living room and says with a bit of exasperation, "Mom, she didn't pay any attention at all." Before I could respond to him, she declares, "I'm sorry Joey, it's just that I have little ears!"

I was doing my best to stifle a hearty laugh when Joey responded right back to her: "Well if you have little ears, how come you have such a big mouth?"

What can a mother say in response to that? Actually, I couldn't say a thing.

It was so funny, but it really made me think about how even in a small child, the sin nature is so quick to come up with excuses. Here she was with a 'valid' reason in her mind why she just couldn't listen............it was all because of her little ears!! How could she help it??

What she didn't realize was that her brother and I knew better. The size of her ears, (which are perfectly proportional to the rest of her), had nothing to do with her inability to pay attention. Her greatest obstacle was and is her flesh, desiring its own way and resisting obedience.

James 1:19 spells out what all of us need to be diligent to apply: Be quick to hear, slow to speak.... Oh isn't it so much easier to be quick to speak and slow to hear? That mouth of ours can go at such high rates of speed!! The problem with this is that while we are so busy talking, we are not hearing. Verse 22 of James states the following: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

God gave us a mouth for a reason: we are to spread His truth and His love with it. But unless we can keep it closed long enough to hear what is being said and allow it to sink in deep, we will never turn into a 'doer' of the word.

I thank God daily for my precious children; they keep me young (I think), keep me laughing, and keep me learning. I've been convicted that I too, do more talking than listening at times, especially with my children. I think many of us have that problem, and that we too have 'good reasons' why we must speak instead of listen (ours just may not be as comical).

God can do what right now seems 'impossible' in teaching Grace how to be quick to hear and slow to speak; that she, after hearing and meditating on the Word, might let it change her into becoming a doer of the Word. God can and does continually teach me as well; in this instance that I too must remain on guard against being quick to speak and slow to hear.

For today: We have a choice. We can either have small ears and a big mouth, or we can have big ears and a small mouth. The flesh will always choose the first. The second will only be the result of living and walking in the Spirit.

Which pair describes you?

Mark 4:24 Then He said to them: "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you: and to you who hear, more will be given."