Listen To God First

The amazing thing about the age we live in is the accessibility of information. We are constantly bombarded with tons of words, ads, commercials, songs, shows, movies, etc. It seems like everywhere we go there is a constant stream of words. Henri Nouwen observes:

"Over the last few decades we have been inundated by a torrent of words. Wherever we go we are surrounded by words: words softly spoken, recited, or sung; words on records, in books, on walls, or in the sky; words to be heard, read, seen, or glanced at; words which flicker off and on, move slowly, dance, jump, or wiggle. Words, words, words! They form the floor, the walls, and the ceiling of our existence" (The Way of the Heart, 31).

We definitely live in a culture with a challenge that people of past ages did not have to deal with as strongly as we do. That challenge is: what voices do you listen to? Which ones do you really pay attention to? With all of the new books, blogs, and websites popping up every day, which ones do you really allow to speak into your life?

The answer to that question is both difficult and easy.

It's difficult because there are so many worthwhile books and blogs, etc. that have the potential to greatly enrich our lives that we could never actually absorb the useful good out of all of them. We would be wise to avail ourselves of the best of them.

It's easy because, when you boil everything down, there's really only one source of information that really matters. You guessed it...God. When it's all said and done, it's great if we benefit from all the good, practical information out there, but nothing is more important than allowing the primary shaper of our lives to be the voice of God.

In the end, it's really the only thing that matters. If we can make our priority listening to the voice of God and shaping our lives around his revealed will in the Scriptures, we will find in the end that we have built our lives on the only true and lasting foundation.