The Bible tells us to be “quick to listen and slow to speak.” (James 1:19)
February 22, 2026
This is the key to success in relationships — on both a business level and a personal level. Technological breakthroughs notwithstanding, it is impossible to listen and talk at the same time; we can do one or the other. The more we listen, and the less we speak, the more likely we are to communicate effectively.
with Pastor Terrell
Irving Shapiro, former chairman of DuPont, once said… “People who accomplish things do more listening than talking.” In his book, The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz said... “Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking.” The challenges we face when it comes to communicating in healthy ways are daunting. For most of us, our challenge today is to monopolize the listening — to be eager to hear what others are saying. It may go against the grain for us, but in doing this we will have taken one giant step in breaking the communication barrier.
As we learn to be better listeners to others, we will find the same communication skills that aid us in learning to hear God speak to us as well — and that should be a primary goal in all of our lives. We desperately need to hear God speaking into our lives every day!
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak...” ~ James 1:19 (NLT) ~ LEARNING TO LISTEN Many years ago now, in an office supply store I saw a new and improved technological gadget — a $400 speaker phone boasting “handset-quality” voice reproduction. The main selling point on the box was… “Now You Can Talk and Listen at the Same Time!” Isn’t this the problem with human interaction — that we have a tendency to try to talk and listen at the same time? Do we need technology to make the situation worse? The primary obstacle to effective communication is our inability (or unwillingness) to listen. For many, conversation isn’t about communication, it’s about competition — verbally outmaneuvering the other side to win an argument. As I shared four Sundays ago in my sermon on A Crash Course on Fast Listening: Stephen Covey says, “Many people do not listen with intent to understand. They listen with intent to reply.” Of course, this kind of non-listening gets us nowhere. continued
Blessings on you as we all continue working on our ability to communicate in Christ-like ways. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we continue with IMMERSE. We are in the POETS of the Old Testament. This Sunday we will look at A Crash Course on Hearing God Speak. Pastor Terrell