Have you ever had someone talking to you and while you hear them speaking, you really aren’t listening to what they’re saying?  Yeah, sad to say, me too. 

This morning in my reading, I was convicted of that, as I studied my way through Proverbs 23:19.

“Hear my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.” 

This verse holds three imperatives (commands, not suggestions).

If I’m commanded to do these, I better fully understand what they are. 

HEAR (shama in Hebrew) means to hear with attention or interest, to hear in order to understand and yield to.  That’s a far cry from just seeing someone’s lips moving and not really giving a lick to what they’re saying. 

So question for ya.  When you read your Bible, are you just reading words to finish “devotions” and check a box, feeling like you did your Christian duty?  Or are you reading (listening and understanding) it through the lens that God Almighty is speaking to you? 

BE WISE (chakam in Hebrew) means to be wise in mind, in word, and in act — to show yourself wise.  How do I do that?  I show I’m wise by getting myself in the right heart posture to (shama) — to hear in order to understand and yield to God.  What comes to mind is James 1:22 — “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.“. 

These two imperatives DO NOT come naturally, which is why I believe God added the third imperative. 

DIRECT YOUR HEART in the way.  Direct (asar in Hebrew) means to lead on and to set right.  The  heart (leb) includes the feelings, the will and even the intellect.  Your inner self. 

Think about that.  If I love someone deeply, chances are that that love will affect how I “hear” them, not just blah, blah, blah, but I will desire to really hear what they are saying in order to understand what’s on their heart. 

I guess my take-away is that if I am reading the Word with a blasé attitude, that says a lot about the level of intensity with which I love God Himself.  

You want to hear to understand the heart of the person you are listening to.

If that pinches your heart, that’s good!  The Spirit is at work in your, and God’s mercies are new every morning. 

Today is a brand new day.  You can CHOOSE how you are going to listen and show yourself wise by directing your heart in how you approach the Scriptures.