10 - Take Heed How Ye Hear
“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”Proverbs 4:23.
“In order to learn, we must attend; in order to profit by what we have learnt, we must think — that is, reflect. He only thinks who reflects.” “ It is worthy of special observation, that the Scriptures are distinguished from all other writings pretending to inspiration, by the strong and frequent recommendations to knowledge, and a spirit of inquiry. Without reflection, it is evident that neither the one can be acquired nor the other exercised.”
Coleridge.
“Take heed what ye hear’’ (Mark 4:24.) “ Take heed how ye hear’’ (Luke 8:18.) This is a very important admonition, yet we pay very little attention to it.
How many of us are watchful to hear only that which will help us to a nobler life? “ What ye hear.” Words of wisdom and words of sinful folly are ever competing for our attention, trying to reach the mind, not only through the ear, but through the eye from printed page and picture. In a thousand forms of appeal trying to get our attention, and influence our life.
What a motley group of petitioners they are that plead for a hearing! Some coming laden with gold and all manner of wholesome spices, royal gifts to enrich us with things that are good and pure; others bringing deadly poisons with which to steal away our senses while they rob us of the true wealth and beauty of our lives.
Some come to teach us a higher harmony of life, to attune us to full accord with God’s most holy will; others would woo us to sin by strains that can at last leave us only with discordant sorrow and remorse.
Many a soul has received its first stain in some heedless hearing, when every door of approach to the mind should have been carefully guarded, and every word that approached the ear, and every page that came before the eye, compelled to pass a challenging scrutiny as to their value and their purpose. Many a child is stained and weakened for life by the careless permission of parents and teachers. They do not wish it, but they do not guard against it.
Heedlessness as to what we hear is our first danger, but the admonition concerning it is not more important than the second, “Take heed how ye hear.” We are not only heedless as to what we hear, but we are careless how we hear what is good. Many a follower of Christ, who is weak to-day, might soon grow strong by careful attention to this command, and all of us would find it wholesome food for faith and peace. The parable indicates at least three conditions of profitable hearing of the word of the kingdom.
First, — Attention. The reason why the wayside hearer received no benefit from the truth was because he did not understand it. And he did not understand it because, when he heard the word, he did not attend to it, did not study it, did not concentrate the powers of his mind upon it to know its full meaning. Inattention was the cause of death to all the truth that had fallen upon his heart. “Take heed how ye hear,” is an all-important injunction, for careless hearing, cynical hearing, attention to the form instead of the truth, receiving the husk instead of the seed, is the secret of a vast deal of the church’s weakness.
Attention is more than a mere hearing of words; it is attending to them in order to know their full meaning, their purpose in relation to self, and their fullest value to the life.
“Having heard, keep, and bring forth fruit with patience!’ ’’Keep!’’ A student hearing a valuable truth says, “ I must keep that.” How does he do it? By concentrating his attention upon it until it becomes a part of himself. He looks at it on every side to see all its phases. He does not simply think how valuable or how beautiful it is, but absorbs it into his very life. But more than attention is necessary to profitable hearing. The second class of hearers gave full attention to the “word,” and received it into willing hearts; but it brought forth no fruit in the harvest because there was no true preparation of the heart for hearing the gospel; it was a mere surface reception.
Therefore, second, preparation is necessary. The second class died because the preparation was not thorough. A hearer may pay close attention to the truth, fully assenting to it in his mind, and gladly receiving it in his heart; but if there is not a complete breaking up of the old rock of sin, the new life — which requires for its full growth all of a man’s nature — will die before the summer of his life is over. Not only must the ploughing be deep and thorough, but the old roots of sin must be pulled up and thrown away from the life. Sorrow for sin must grow into a hatred of sin and a righteous fear of it. The true loves of the heart must be purified and strengthened by companionship with divine love, while unholy affections must be cut off from all congenial companionship, and fought against until dead or completely in subjection to a will that is allied only with pure affections. But something more is necessary than attention and preparation. The third class of hearers both gave attention and received the word into soil prepared for its growth, but there was no fruit brought to perfection.
Third, — Cultivation is necessary. An honest and good hearer of the word is in earnest. With him, hearing is an important matter. Not to beguile an hour, or fulfill a duty, but to enlarge and enrich his life. It is a part of life’s supremest question, out-ranking in importance every other interest, whether of business, of family, or of reputation. To him, everything else is secondary to his permanent, eternal life. Hence he not only listens earnestly, honestly and patiently; but is a “ sincere doer of the word.” To him, religion is not merely opinion, or theory, or knowledge; it is life eternal, and therefore he cannot rest content with merely ploughing and sowing, but must cultivate with all skill and care that the harvest may be abundant and of the very best quality.
Whatever care may be taken in the preparation of the soil and in the sowing, all the weeds and thorn-roots cannot be entirely removed before the seed begins to grow, and with the good growth the evil that is left in the soil will surely spring up. If the husbandman is watchful and industrious, these evil roots may be removed before doing much harm; but while life lasts there is danger. Old sins which you thought were entirely eradicated long ago, may spring up again to choke your better life. Therefore the Master bids all to “watch and pray” against every evil thing. There is especial value in this third injunction, for whatever we love becomes a theme of our thoughts, enters into the formation of our ideal of life, and modifies all our plans.
Every object of our love draws us towards its own likeness in proportion to the strength of the affection. The only way to avoid becoming like what we love is to sacrifice the affection. Christ is Jehovah’s ideal for all our race. We reach the highest possible attainment in life when we arrive at the full stature of Christ. If we love Him supremely, love Him for His purity. His divine greatness of character, love Him as the ideal for our own life, we shall grow like Him. Our present life is the soil. “The word of the kingdom “ is the seed. Eternal perfection, likeness to Christ, is the ripened harvest of our life.
It is worth all it costs to prepare the soil thoroughly, and cultivate it with watchful industry, in order that so divine a seed may produce a full harvest.
Take four boys sitting together at school and watch their careers. One is stupid; he hears with indifference. Truth makes no impression on him. He is a mere wayside hearer. The second boy is bright, quick, probably the smart boy of the school and the pride of his home. He hears and instantly lays hold of the truth taught, — his whole countenance tells that he has caught the meaning. His recitation is brilliant, but it is seed very near the surface, no depth.
Anyone who will tickle the surface will get a quick, bright response; but such a boy never gets beyond the reputation or the ability of his school days. A few years out of school, and he becomes commonplace, disappointing many great expectations. The third boy hears, studies the matter in all its bearings, lays strong hold of it, understands it, and absorbs it into his life.
He can never forget it. It is become a part of him. But he absorbs all other instruction just as thoroughly. That things are contradictory makes little difference as to the place he gives them in his life. He may become an encyclopaedia of information, but it always remains information, never becomes life. He stands in the same attitude towards one kind of knowledge as towards another. His distinctions are not clearly drawn.
He is full of all manner of goods, a ’’ curiosity shop “ of ideas and beliefs, but there is a great scarcity of convictions. Erasmus was a very able scholar, but there were too many weeds in his heart, and the driving Reformation tide pushed him aside and left him stranded alone. Luther with less knowledge, but with mighty convictions, moved all Europe, and kept his place at the very front of the Reformation till the end of his life. Our fourth boy will hear as the third, and with no more thorough knowledge, but while he masters fundamental truths, he also cultivates his susceptibility to every impression of like truth. He learns to recognize the lineaments of truth, and accepts only that information which can stand harmonious adjustment with what he already knows to be true. His knowledge may be as vast and varied as his friend’s, but he stands in an altogether different relation to it. He cultivates a love for all that is true, and as carefully cultivates a hatred for whatever is false. His convictions grow with his knowledge, and his attitude is conscientiously uncompromising. It is not enough that we hear the truth and “keep it,” but we must keep it clean from all association with evil. The whole duty of hearing may be summed up in these two commands, “Take heed what ye hear,” and, “ Take heed how ye hear.” Hear the truth, and take heed how ye hear it. Avoid all else than truth. Hear not falsehood, hear not folly, hear not evil. Hear the truth, *’the word of the kingdom,” at all hazard, but take heed how ye hear even the truth. Hear it with attention, with due preparation of heart, and with continued cultivation, for this is the hearing by which faith comes, ’’ and by grace are ye saved through faith.”