Oh To Shut My Motormouth

"The first duty of love is to listen." - Paul Tillich

I am good at talking.
I love to talk.
I love making people laugh.
I love telling stories.
I am demonstrative.
By nature, I am an extrovert.
I am loud.
Sometimes too loud.
Sometimes outspoken.

Today, God decided to teach a lesson of humility and quiet grace.

Over the past few weeks, I have become more and more aware of how little I actually listen to people.
I interrupt.
I have a bad habit of staring off into space when others are talking.
I often jump in and finish what they were going to say...even though it may not have actually been what they were going to say.

It is a hard lesson to unlearn.

I have also become more aware of just how beautiful quiet humility is.
Pure.
Unwordly.
Simple.
Moral.
Kind.
Sweet.
Faithful.
Devoted.
Chaste.
Clean.
Unsuspecting.
Innocent.
Submissive.
Gentle.
Meek.
Mild.

Those are the adjectives that we should all strive to be.
Especially those of use who are Choleric, Sanguine, or BOTH.
And that goes for you too, Melancholy and Phlegmatic.
We can all struggle with having that true character of Jesus - self denying.

So today, God sent me two friends who needed someone to talk to.
One was having family issues, and needed advice.
One had thoughts about her relationship that needed to be heard.

In the first, I needed to speak.
In the second, I needed to listen.

How wonderful it is to put someone before yourself.
How rare a time we actually remember to do it.

Today, I have been reminded what Jesus asked us to do.
To be servants of our fellow man, and serve out of love.

"Freely we serve, because freely we love." - John Milton