Listening is Cool!
“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.” Luke 2:25 KJV
One of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln. It is: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Very often we speak or do things before we wait for the whole process to be scanned by our brains. The results often don’t work out well for us.
Grace Goodhue was born in Burlington, Vermont. Her father was a mechanical engineer and a steamboat inspector. After graduating from the University of Vermont she took a job at the Clarke School for the Deaf as a lip reading instructor. She was outgoing, friendly and talkative.
One day Grace was watering the flowers outside the school and she looked up at an open window in the boarding house close by. Inside the window was a man shaving in front of a mirror. He wore nothing but long underwear and a hat. She busted out laughing. He heard her and turned her way. You might say that was their first meeting. Two years later they were married.
There are some very special people in the Bible. Often we are not given much background information on them. There are but a few verses about them, yet, for some reason, their story gets told. So is the story of Simeon. We don’t know his occupation. We don’t know his life’s story. We don’t even know why he was picked. All we know is that he was “just” and “devout.” All he was told to do was wait. He was told he would not die until he saw the Lord Jesus. He listened and he waited and that was exactly what happened. That’s pretty much the end of the story.
Listening well is a trait not too many of us possess. We much rather do the talking and have others do the listening part. Maybe Simeon was such a good listener, among way too many talkers, and that is why his story is mentioned. How about you, do you know any really good listeners? Sometimes I feel the best listener I can find is the wall.
Grace married her complete opposite. She was talkative and fun-loving where her husband was serious and quiet. The rest of this blog is devoted to her silent husband. I was real tempted to leave the rest of this blank, but maybe silence isn’t my strong point either. By the way, his nickname is Silent Cal.
I will tell a few Calvin Coolidge stories, give a few Calvin Coolidge quotes, and quote some Bible Verses (from the King James Version of the Bible) on silence or listening. So here we go:
Calvin Coolidge was once at an event. Coolidge was known for not saying much. A lady came up to him and told him about a bet she had with one of her friends. She told him that she bet that she could get Calvin to say more than three words. Calvin’s response: “You lose.”
Coolidge quote: “I have never been hurt by anything I didn’t say.”
Bible Verse: “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” Proverbs 17:28
When he was Vice President, Calvin Coolidge had to attend a lot of dinners. At one of these he was listening to a conversation on the morality of playing golf on Sunday. Noticing that he wasn’t saying anything, the hostess turned to Calvin Coolidge and asked for his opinion. Calvin replied, “I had a grandmother. She was a Baptist. She didn’t.”
Coolidge quote: “If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.”
Bible Verse: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11:15
Coolidge was once Governor of Massachusetts. When he became Vice President, Channing Cox succeeded him to the Governorship of Massachusetts. On a visit to see Coolidge, Cox asked him how in the world was he able to see all those people who came calling on him when he was Governor and still leave by 5:00 pm. He wanted to know what Coolidge was doing differently than he was. Coolidge’s response: “You talk back.”
Coolidge quote: “It takes a great man to be a good listener.”
Bible Verse: “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13
Prayer: Father, Sometimes having the patience to listen is the hardest thing to do. Please let my ears do a better job than my mouth. Amen.
