When we listen to music, what do we listen to?
The sound of the words, or their meanings, or their deeper significance? Or is it the timbre of the singer’s voice, the pleasing sense of the melody, or the rhythm of the beat behind the vocal performance? Or could it be the heavy thump of the bass guitar, the cadence of the percussion instrument, or the harmony of all the instruments playing together?
When we listen to music, who do we listen to?
The musicians who play silently but express their musicality behind the lead singer, the back-up singers who provide harmony, or the main singer who carries the melody and the lyric? Or is it the arranger who has orchestrated the whole performance into a unified expression of its unique musical character? Or maybe the sound mixer who has cleaned up the whole audio quality of the music? Or could it be the composer who by his or her lonesome created the seed of an idea and worked with others to come up with a full display of artistic excellence?
Perhaps, we do all of these things at one time or another in the process of enjoying music. Perhaps, more of a few things than the rest. Hence, if you are a lead guitarist, you would probably listen more to that instrument than any other. Or, if you are a mere music appreciator, you might probably just listen to the song as a whole without any particular regard to all or any of the parts we mentioned. Some may not even listen to music at all but listen to other things over, above or behind the music that may be playing in an elevator, in a concert hall or in a parking lot.
So, what message do we get from listening then? We could be listening to other things not really that audible to the ears and getting an entirely different message not intended by what we heard. Or, as expected, listening and believing what we were led to hear and accept.
So, when we listen to or watch a TV program, what do we listen to and who do we listen to?
Is it the news anchor reading the news, the comedian delivering his punch line or the interviewer pestering a guest with personal questions? Perhaps, we are hearing what we are watching but not actually listening to the meanings or significance of what people are saying and doing.
We could be somewhere else listening to something or someone else in our mind.
And how many times have we seen a movie scene and then all of a sudden we realize there was a new dimension to what the words were really saying? Not in the context of the movie but in the context of your new and present situation in life. Whereas, as a child you might have admired Mowgli’s bravery in Jungle Book when he said he was not afraid of Shere Khan, the mean tiger; but now you realize he was stupid to feel and think that way.
Hence, when we pray or read the Bible, what do we listen to and who do we listen to?
Is it our voice reading the text, whether aloud or in silence? That is, do we understand the words spoken as our own ideas or the words and meanings of God Himself? And is our prayer, spoken by us in our hearts and minds, made up of words we have learned to use and are now applying to express our own desire over and against that of God’s and not in accordance and in submission to His desire for us? Or are the words we speak, aloud or in silence, words we have spoken because the Spirit of God, whom we have allowed to enter into our hearts, not just at the moment of prayer but way before we even learned to pray in the Spirit’s control, has given us the ability to select the thoughts and the words that befit the character of one who has given himself or herself up under God’s complete control?
Do we listen then to ourselves or to the Lord, the Holy Spirit? Is the music we play or listen to an extension then of the Spirit guiding us to a level of divine character closer to His very nature or does it lead us gradually away from the initial work He had started in your life when we received the Spirit into your heart? Is the recreation we engage in or the education we are occupied with or is our present work we do a constant reinforcement of what the Spirit is building up in our life as children of God; that is, is everything that we do at every moment an expression of the living offering that God wants us to be and to give?
Do we do things then expecting to hear God say “Well done, good and faithful servant” and not hearing ourselves say “I have done good” without waiting for or even expecting His approval? Or do we just live and leave it up to Him to make the judgment? That is, not judging for ourselves whether we truly hear and see Him (as He has revealed Himself and not as we have conceived Him to be) and strive to follow His ways?
Are we genuinely listening to God in the silence of our hearts and minds, in spite of all the noise and chaos that go around us? Do we truly seek to understand the meaning of life through a continual awareness of the value of seeking the will of God in all that we do by listening to the Spirit’s voice, the voice of Jesus, the still small voice we call our conscience?
Or is our conscience entirely our own and of our own making?
Many have burned their consciences that they no longer feel shame, guilt or regret. They can hear but do not listen. They can see but do not understand. They can appreciate but do not commit their life completely through godly living.
To be a child of God is to keep one’s eyes and ears attentive to His words. To keep our spirit a reverberant image of His Spirit. Listen well and be very watchful. The world is full of so many fake sounds and false images.
(Photo -- taken on Mt. Pulag's peak -- of my former student and fellow photography-enthusiast, Shirley Bernardo of Bantay, Ilocos Sur.)
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