I grew up playing the drums – and I loved it!  As a teenager of the 1980’s in mid-west America I played all types of rock (classic, hard, glam, pop) and when I discovered fusion I was in my element.  For a few years everything, including my career aspirations, revolved around writing, playing and performing music.  In college I earned extra money by teaching drum lessons.  In these lessons one of the first exercises I did was to put on a song and ask the student to ‘feel’ the tempo and rhythm of the music.  It didn’t take long for me to see that some people have a natural ability, others have enough ability to be taught and others ….. well, they really like music.

It is an amazing thing to watch (and listen to) someone who has a natural musical ability – whether it be drums, vocals, strings, brass or woodwinds.  This person has an almost instinctive ability to ‘feel’ the music; not just hear it.  But, even those who don’t have an aptitude to play a musical instrument, most people have an appreciation for music.  The arrangement, the combination of melody, rhythm, lyric and tempo have a tendency to capture our hearts and transport us to a place that informs our emotions and inspires our thoughts.

When I think about Jesus’ instruction to consider carefully how I listen, I sometimes relate it to music.  The way my heart responds to a quality piece of music is analogous to the way my heart responds to the message of God.  Not the same, but the analogy may help us consider the process.

If I am to respond in faith to the message I hear then I must learn to allow my heart to respond – often before I allow my head to respond.   When I hear a new song, I try to allow myself to hear the entire piece without picking apart the different instruments – sometimes this is hard to do.  Even though a part of me wants to count the meter and dissect what the rhythm section are playing I have learned that my chances of appreciating a new song are stronger if my heart experiences it before I experience it with my head.

“It is with the heart you believe…”  It is within the heart music is felt and experienced.

When we hear the words of God, it is crucial that we learn to engage with our heart.  Hearing with our ‘head’ – through reason, logic and understanding – is not bad.  On the contrary, it is good; and necessary.  But, sometimes, it is limited.

Our hearts are bigger than our heads.  So, when I hear the words of God, I am learning to resist the urge to dissect the revelation with my reason just so I can place it neatly in the filing cabinet of my understanding.  On the contrary, I am learning to hear the words of God with my heart so I can respond with the faith that is quickened by my spirit.  To do this, I must learn to recognise how my heart listens to the melody and rhythm contained in the words of God.

I am learning to pay more attention to how I listen.