Today’s Devotion

Topic: Be Ready To Listen

Text: 1 Sam 9: 6,8

6 But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” 8 The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.” Amen.

We all get stubborn at times when we have to consider suggestions contrary to our views. It is even more challenging when this contrary advice comes from persons we consider to be of a lower social standing (like your children, younger siblings, junior colleagues, subordinates at work etc).

We usually look down on such people, disregard their opinions and, at worse, their personalities. Although we may never voice out this disregard, we often demonstrate with the excuses we give to their suggestions and at times, with our body language too. This makes it difficult for “such” subordinates to suggest anything new to us. 

We realise from our text that Saul’s servant did not only give good counsel to his master, but also offered something more valuable (the money)… that was to aid Saul into his divine destiny. Sometimes the solution we seek from “higher dwellers” is with the unassuming “lower dwellers” around us.

Some subordinates do offer good advice. But that is not all, they often offer their availability to help implement such counsel too. Some truly care about you, pray for your well being and will do anything within their power to help you achieve the goal ahead. BUT NO! They are not as rich, learned and experienced as the “higher dwellers” we look up to, so we easily reject their counsel and move on.

As a matter of fact, it is not “Christ-like” to reject good counsel only because it comes from one of a’lower social standing’. Rather, in humility, let us consider others better than ourselves.

Don’t be the ‘all wise king’ who has seen it all and actually knows it all. For God has hidden certain things from the great and mighty and revealed them to babes. If we are humble and attentive enough, we will benefit from such great pools of wisdom.

Beloved, pray now for a heart that is quick to listen and slow to speak. One that evalutes advice by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit not by the social status of the advisor.

(www.yonghana.org, Like our Facebook page: Y OUTREACH NETWORK)