LISTEN TO YOUR ENEMIES

 

Who gave a word of wisdom to all politicians: “Listen to your enemies, because they are the only ones telling you the truth!”

 

We live in a time when people can be very shrill with each other: try to shout them down! We have become hardened and no longer shocked at some of the outrageous things people will say to one another in social media.

 

This is where we must learn from the mistakes that were made in the past. Many of our social breakdowns, our wars and our religious divisions have come because people refused to listen to one another.

 

In Western Christianity, five hundred years ago, we experienced the Reformation and the break-up of Christianity. This is where we must be very critical of our ancestors. They were Europeans with a long history of making wars with each other (i.e., not listening). When new ideas (i.e., challenges ) were brought forth, they could not hear the truth that the other was speaking. Christianity did not have to break apart. 

 

Simply put: no one was listening!

 

When people actually sit down and listen to one another new bridges are built; relationships are strengthened and we see each other in the new light. Listening is not only to overcome conflict but to strengthen a new future.

 

We are being challenged to listen in a new way to the pain and the suffering of the earth. Human activity is causing the atmosphere to warm up, to see rivers poisoned by chemicals dumped into its streams and the disappearacnce of species of  animals and birds. The earth calls out to listening to its pain.

 

Thousands of refugees are on the move to a safe country with stability and an economic opportunity. The world needs to listen to the thousands of displaced peoples; displaced by civil war and the breakdown of the society they are now trying to survive in. The movement of refugees is all about survival.

 

In our country, and every country, we need to listen to the countless people who are working two jobs and still cannot get established and become self-reliant. These are the working poor who most often are overlooked and marginalized. Are the media and the government listening to their struggles to survive?

 

Then there are the families and friends of Canadians who have died of a drug overdose. And what of all the health-care workers who are actively caring for people addicted to drugs?

 

The power of listening is to affirm the value of the other person, even if we firmly disagree with them. Listening will bring new insights and enable us to chart a new course of action within our society. It will always be challenging.

 

A  life built with honest listening is similar to the strengths we put into building our family home: it will last and thrive.