DTOTD – The Lost Art of _______
” Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ” What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, ” he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’ – because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” – Acts 17:18
There are a lot of things in our world that seem to be mystifying. Things that blow our minds as to why they happen, or where they happen or when they will happen next. There are also things in our world that shock us more than we can comprehend. Like when someone does something good for someone else, or someone helps someone else for no apparent reason. In the book of Acts, we see that the spread of the Gospel is a mystifying event. It is something that is so different to people that it draws them in to listen. It captures the attention of people that like to sit around and talk all day long. It attracts conversation with people of all sort of backgrounds and history and literacy rates.
In this current section of Acts 17, we see that Paul is by himself in the city of Athens, waiting for the other disciples and crew that were traveling with Paul to catch up to him after they made Paul flee from Berea, the last city they were in. Paul found himself with an urge and push from the Holy Spirit to talk with the people of Athens and all of a sudden Paul finds himself in the middle of one of the largest conversations he could have found himself in.
” So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said ” Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription ‘ TO the unknown God’. What therefore you worship as unknown , this is I proclaim to you…..” Acts 17:22 & 23
What I love about Paul and the way that he interacts with people of different cultures and cities and backgrounds, is that he takes the time to know them, before he introduces them to anything new. Sometimes it takes longer than others. But here we see that Paul finds himself in a surrounded space with people that literally sit and talk all day long about religion and gods and anything else they can muster up a conversation about.
There is no where to do that in todays world. If you track along with Paul and his missionary journey’s throughout the book of Acts, you will see that it is full of conversations that he is having with other people. Whether the people accept what he has to say is another question, but there is something that Paul has that seems to have been lost over time. Something that would really change the way that life could react and respond too if we all took the time to do this…
There is a lost art of listening to each other in our culture.
We live in a world that demands to be right and demands to be the best. No matter what it might be, whether it is a work promotion, adult recreational basketball league game, kids swim meet, or how good your lawn looks compared to your neighbor that you don’t particularly care for. We live in a world that demands a certain amount of callousness versus porousness towards one another.
What I love about the rise of Christianity and the spread of the Gospel, is that it was determined on the ability of the disciples to be bold in what they believed, which was that Jesus is the son of God and he died and rose again for the forgiveness of sins and that Jesus is coming back. But they also had the ability to listen to those people that were sent too. They did not take offense to each and every single person that said something against what they believed, they listened and either decided to move on like Jesus commanded them too back in Matthew 10. But they listened before they approached.
What would it look like if we took that approach in today’s world?
If we fully listened to another person or another party and instead of jumping at the first chance to we have to prove them wrong or to show our disdain to what they said, we listened all the way through the conversation and gave the other party some dignity even if we don’t believe everything they say.
The lost art of listening to each other could change the way we view everything.
Instead of seeing just the billboards or the ideologies being pushed through tv shows or books or memes or whatever media. Instead of seeing someone wearing something different than you and you immediately judging them, instead of jumping to conclusions of why someone went to a place that you would never go, instead of a blasting someone on facebook for supporting something….
what if we started an open-hearted conversation and listened to each other?
” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, ” We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed. among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Acts 17: 32-34
Even the people of Athens that were intrigued at what Paul was teaching wanted to ‘ hear ‘ more about what Paul was talking about. And in the end, their ability to listen by Paul and their willingness to listen to the message of the Gospel, Dionysius goes on to lead the church of Athens and is now considered a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. There is a very large difference in a conversation between hearing and listening.
When you find yourself in a conversation, try listening, wholeheartedly. Better yet, the next time you spend time in prayer with God, try this…..
Just listen for his still and quiet voice.
