How often have you been in conversation with someone like a business associate, a friend, or even a stranger and you strike up a conversation about something trending or happening in the world? Or has it happened to you that a stranger starts talking about something they are worried about and says, “I don’t know why I am telling you this?”
Something that I have observed quite often, even if I am the one doing the talking is that people most often don’t listen to listen. They listen to answer. I have also noticed that most people will have a worse experience than the one you have had. Almost as if it diminishes the feelings that you are feeling because they have gone through worse experiences.
In the past 5 years that I have been working as a journalist, writing stories and working with people, I ask questions, but I stay quiet most of the time. People have a need to explain. It is as if uttering the words helps them heal, or is part of the healing process. I have often spoken to people about my feelings and the moment they try to give opinions or talk about having it worse, I just end up keeping my mouth shut, staying silent, agreeing with what they say and allowing them to keep on talking.
I end up walking away feeling the same way I felt at the beginning of the conversations; Unheard.
There is another side to this coin. Giving advice when we are in the same situation and then not following our own advice. This is called not practicing what you preach. How often are we faced with a situation, a problem, something that gives us anxiety? It is a situation that we have faced before and have survived. It almost seems that we forget these things.
Then a person talks to us about what they are going through and it is almost the same situation we are in. What do we do? We give advice, but we do not follow our own advice.
Do we think that our advice is not good enough for ourselves, but good enough for the other person? What does that say about how much we believe in ourselves and Father, who is always there to help?
John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Could it be possible that when you advise someone, that the advice could be the Holy Spirit talking through you, and that He also gives this advice to you.
Should we then not, with all our heart, start practicing what we preach? It is not us who preach, but Him, who guides us to help others, so that they too can experience
His help, love and peace though these words?
Nobody is perfect, it is our imperfections that make us human. (ANGELIQUE ERASMUS)
Practise what you preach
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