Who's listening to you?

 Acts 16 tells of Paul and Silas' missionary journey.  At one point, they are put in prison after being beaten with rods.  Their feet are even put in stocks.  But look at verse 25: "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;"  You know they were probably in too much pain to sleep, but they aren't complaining.  They are worshipping.  Their eyes are fixed on Jesus, not themselves or their circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-2).  This is lesson enough for us, but did you catch the last part of the verse?  I must admit, as many times as I have read that verse, the last part didn't really strike me until this morning.

The last part of Acts 16:25 says, "and the prisoners were listening to them;"  Their fellow prisoners, criminals, were listening.  They weren't mocking or ignoring or even sleeping.  They were listening.  How many times in our lives are people listening to us?  When we are talking to our kids in the grocery store.  When we are walking through the mall with our spouse.  When we are in a restaurant with our coworkers. People often listen to others as they go about their day.  When people listen to us, what do they hear?  Do they hear our flesh?  or do they hear the Spirit?  Do they hear criticism and complaining? or do they hear praise and gratitude?  Do they hear gossip?  or do they hear worship?  We are told in James 3 that "the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. . . no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison" (verses 6 and 8).  

So how do we make sure that others hear Jesus when they are listening to us?  Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."  We must be Spirit controlled.  Our flesh cannot stop us from giving others an earful of yuck.  But the Spirit can.  And when we fail?  We have to be willing to go back to those we can and admit that we were wrong.  Sometimes, being able to admit that we said something we shouldn't have is just as powerful as, or even more powerful than,  getting it right in the first place.  Then they can see Christ in our humility.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4).  Paul's advice will also help us.  If we are rejoicing in the Lord always, our mouths are too busy to say the wrong things.  So, no matter the circumstances, may we always rejoice.  You never know who is listening.  You never know who around you needs Jesus right in that moment.