I used to undergo an annual hearing test which consisted of sitting in a soundproof booth with headphones on and responding to a series of tones at different intervals and frequencies by pushing a hand-held button or perhaps repeating something verbatim that was read to me.
When they initially set this up they established a baseline for my hearing and then every year they look for any noticeable deviations or a threshold shift, which could mean a major hearing loss. Now in my industry some have hearing problems for all sorts of reasons, as work related, recreational activities, hereditary, age, etc. and they claim that anything at or above 85 decibels(dB) should require some form of hearing protection otherwise it may lead to becoming permanently disabled or impaired as irreversibly needing the assistance of a hearing aid to amplify and distinguish sounds.
So what got me to thinking about all of this is that one morning my UPS alarm was going off in that I was hearing a high pitch frequency noise coming from somewhere in the house but being somewhat removed from it, as upstairs behind a closed door, I couldn’t really make out what it was and where it was coming from until I decided to follow the noise.
While I responded to the noise there are some who may hear the noise and just put up with it, as ignoring it all together, even though I don’t know how, as a friend of ours has a smoke detector(s) which just needs a back-up battery installed but instead of putting a new battery in the device they just live with a constant beeping noise.
Anyway I suggest that there is some correlation between how we deal with our lives as being exposed to various types and levels of noise and how we metaphorically tune-in or tune-out God through the inner (spiritual) ear as either failing to respond, as with a dull ear, or by listening as having ears that hear, Mt. 13:1-23
When we are quite young our ear(s) function optimally as they have not been desensitized to our environments but as we get older we begin to lose that function due to harmful exposure or as a result of aging. No wonder the bible talks about having a child-like humility that is open and trusting making it easier to pick up and follow God’s voice and only as we grow older do we become deafened to it, as ever so subtle (chronic) or abrupt (acute), that we either lose it, ignore it (selective hearing), misapply it (itching ears), or can’t hear or discern it (tone-deaf) over the static of distractions with such worldly background noise as needing to have our ears healed in order for us to be able to pick up His still small voice, 1 Kings 19:12.
In closing there is another condition that affects people’s hearing known as Tinnitus which has symptoms that include a constant ringing in the ears and some may react to God in much the same way they do to this maddening buzz as either ignoring Him or trying to silence Him, even though such an unremitting noise was intended to get our attention so that we would relationally find and follow Him, #areyoulistening?
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