Parenting Tip #10 – Listen
James 1:19
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Parenting Tip:
Sometimes life gets way too busy. Between work, errands, emails, and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to unintentionally tune out the voices of our kids, our spouse, or God.
It drives me nuts when my kids are playing a video game, looking at a screen while I am talking to them. When I was a kid, I did the same thing to my parents. I told my son he is required to pause a game when his mother or I start talking to him. A while ago, he said that he can’t pause the game because he’s playing with his friends online, and the game won’t pause. We’ve worked through this, but screens are doing serious damage to the quality of family relationships.
James writes that “Everyone should be quick to listen…” Practically speaking, I think this means that when my wife walks in the room and begins speaking to me and I am doing anything other than talking to another person, I should pause what I am doing, turn and face her, look at her face as she is speaking, and do my best to hear and understand her.
Screens today are reducing the quality of our relationships when they take precedence over the people who are in our homes. If my child or spouse is expected to wait till I finish watching a video on my phone, a TV show, texting, or playing a video game, my priorities are mixed up.
Other than my relationship with God, my wife and my children are the premier relationships that God expects me to protect and provide for. One of the best ways I can love God is by loving my family.
If we want our kids to love God, then we need to love them. Our kids are constantly learning how valuable they are by how we respond to them. When we pause, look them in the eyes, and really listen, we’re saying: You matter. I see you. I care. That kind of love builds trust and opens doors for deeper conversations in the future.
In a world full of noise and distractions, being present is a powerful gift. We can be parents who make our kids feel heard, seen, and loved—every single day.
Apologetics Defense of the Biblical Worldview
Child: If God is always listening, why doesn’t He always answer?
Parent: That’s a great question! God always hears us, but He doesn’t always answer in the way or timing we expect. Just like a loving parent doesn’t say “yes” to every request, God answers with what’s best for us in the long run. Sometimes His silence is actually an invitation to trust Him more. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you… You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
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