Who Are You Listening To?

You have probably heard the age-old saying to be careful who you listen to and allow to live rent free in your head. Like me, you may have understood the wisdom but failed to see how it connected. Well, many years later, I came to realize that the phrase stemmed from an anatomical truth – our ears are connected to our brainstems. Our brainstems are responsible for vital functions such as breathing, consciousness, sleep, heart rate, balance, coordination, and reflexes. Sounds travel through our ear canal, semicircular canals and to the vestibulocochlear nerve. The nerve is the connection between our ear and brainstem. Therefore, who we listen to can truly affect the way we behave.

Hearing is passive, unconscious; Listening is proactive, conscious.

Now, listening is more than simply hearing. It is an active, conscious action, and because of this, we tend to internalize what we listen to. As a result, what we listen to can shape the way we think and affect how we behave. For example, if you listened to your lab mentor speak highly about your work, you would begin to feel giddy, energetic, happy. In that moment, you have internalized the words and they have affected your thought process. Or what if you listened to a break-up song? It would trigger old memories, bring forth sadness, and may affect your heart rate.

The voices we allow in our space can truly affect us, sometimes in subtle ways. Someone could speak encouraging words to us and it immediately lifts our spirit. Or someone with bad intentions towards us could speak discouraging words, and if we fail to show discernment, those words can deflate our spirits. We could give up or pursue our dreams just by the words we have internalized. We can be greatly affected just by the words we have internalized. Thus, it is important that we protect our ear gates.

You must discern where a person is speaking from and be careful what you listen to (or internalize)

In protecting our ear gates, we should first ask ourselves – who am I listening to? Whose voice is the loudest? Is it God? Is it my family? Is it my spouse? Is it my childhood friend? Is it the media? We should be very careful of who we give priority to. The loudest voice in your ear controls your mind.

There are many scenarios of people in the Bible that have heard God but listen to or prioritized the voices of others. For example, Adam and Eve heard God say to not eat the forbidden fruit but they listened to a snake! Another example, Saul heard God say to wait, but did he listen? No! He allowed his circumstance to push him to listen to mediums and thus, missed a blessing. Have there been times in your life, like these people from the Bible, that you have heard God say something to you, but listened to someone else? Maybe He told you to pursue a PhD, but because someone close to you felt like you were incapable, you listened to them and didn’t try? We cannot let the words of others prevent us from obtaining our blessings, and so, we must protect our ear gates. We must watch who we are listening to.

‘You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.’

– Galatians 5:7-8 (NIV)

Who you listen to, the voices you internalize, can shape the way you think and change the way you behave. They can impact your future!