Listen

In Proverbs 19, we see some verses that pertain to being a good listener. Here are some examples:
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.
21 There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel--that will stand.

And later in the chapter, we can read:
27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

We have to be attentive certainly to what God has to say to us, and He gives us incredible wisdom and knowledge through His Word.  And, we have to guard against allowing our minds to wander when we are studying the Scriptures.  We also learn and build healthy relationships as we listen intently to what others have say, guarding against preoccupation or distraction, so that we can hear and affirm what is being said to us.

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James 1 applies to the fine art of listening - and listening well:
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Today, I want to walk a bit on the lighter side and focus on a recent article at The Stream about what is called a "mondegreen."  The definition given by the writer is: "the misheard version of a song lyric."

The writer is Dante Witt, and she classifies these misheard lyrics in three categories: those lyrics that are heard to contain food references, Christmas-related lyrics, and words about what you might call, "people, places, or things."  The examples she gives are mainly from children.

Here are some examples...in the culinary category:

"Bringing in the sheaves" becomes "Bringing in the cheese."

Instead of "Up from the grave He arose," you hear, "Up from the gravy arose."

Or, the phrase "in excelsis Deo" becomes "Those egg shells are a day old."

Which leads us into the Christmas category:

There's "Round John virgin" in Silent Night rather than "Round yon virgin."

She also mentions:

“Hail Mary, full of grace. Dolores Whitney” turned out — rather unexpectedly — to be “Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.” The Dolores Whitney business is reminiscent of two other mysterious females: “Shirley Goodness and Mercy..."

And, then moving into that final area, there is a mysterious man named Andy, as in:

“Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me.”  That's a mis-hearing from the hymn, In the Garden.

The phrase "lead us not into temptation," becomes, "lead us not into Penn Station," which may have some relevance for travelers in the Big Apple.

Then, maybe you've heard of “Gladly, the cross-eyed bear” or “Bradley, the cross-eyed bear.”

Or, how about that line from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing: “Here I raise my heavy knees, Sir."

She threw in a couple more Christmas references, such as "The First Snow-Elf," and "While shepherds washed their socks by night."

Perhaps you have a favorite mondegreen that perhaps your child has produced.   I remember there used to be a song that I would play on a station I used to work for that spoke of bringing your "burden" to the Lord - our morning team at the time referenced that as bringing a "bird."  And, I remember in a former praise band era about the hymn Jesus Paid it All, in which the "leper's spots" became the "leopard's spots."

Well, this is a rather silly exercise, but I do think there are some serious points to be illustrated here.  Number one is to make sure that we are listening to what is being said.  Maybe you've been engaged in a conversation, but your mind is a thousand miles away.  We honor the person with whom we're speaking by intently listening to what he or she is saying to us.  That avoids misunderstanding later.

And, that can also apply to God's Word.  Reading and studying the Bible involves concentrating on what He is saying to us through the Scriptures.   We cannot hear from the Lord if our minds are engaged in other activities.  The cares of this life can be unwelcome distractions from the pure truth of His Word.

We also have to make sure that we are communicating accurately.  We cannot underemphasize the importance of thinking before we speak, lest we end up offending another person and undermining our credibility.  We can also make sure that we are speaking not only clearly, but also honestly - God calls us to speak truth and not to lie.  By doing so, we become effective ambassadors for Him.