Scripture: 16:1-8

There is a saying like this, ‘God has given us two ears and one mouth for some reason.’ To train ourselves in our lives, listening is essential. Counselors say that we should listen to one another. Spiritual counselors say that we listen to God. But nobody tells us to listen to ourselves. I don’t say we have an inner voice constantly telling us the right things. Also, I don’t say that we should not listen to God or others but only to our inner voice. We need to listen to ourselves first to understand how people take our words.

The people of Israel could have followed this suggestion when Moses was leading them toward Canaan. They got freedom miraculously, yet they started complaining within a few days (Exodus 16:2). Although it is understandable that they needed food, they did not express it correctly (verse 3).

Whenever we talk with fear, anger, ignorance, or pride, although we say the right thing, people who listen to us absorb our feelings and words. But they wouldn’t know why we feel that way. They wouldn’t know if it was because of love, care, or disrespect. So this makes way for them to misunderstand us. Before we speak it out loudly, if we listen to our words carefully, we can judge ourselves before hurting others or God with our words.