Straight Paths-

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A Man of Understanding

Loren Hardin

For The Ashland Beacon

             This is part three in a series about my fellow pilgrim, Tom. According to Tom’s wife, Faye, Tom is a modern-day renaissance man, "He always said he wanted to try everything.” Tom was a preacher and pastor, a skilled mechanic; he owned and operated tractor-trailer rigs; was a motorcycle enthusiast, a competitive tennis player and according to Faye, "He could have been a professional bowler."

             Though paralyzed from Lou Gehrig’s disease, Tom is still in daily pursuit of God’s will. Tom is the incarnation of the Apostle Paul’s declaration, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed…Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day...” (2 Corinthians 4:8-18). 

             Tom shared, “God has been showing me I have a long way to go and a short time to get there. He’s been showing me that I need to be a better listener. I feel convicted about it. There aren’t very many good listeners.  Most people are thinking about what they’re going to say next instead of really listening to you.” 

             As I listened, I realized Tom was referring to more than passive listening. He was referring to being a discriminating listener. Tom elaborated, “People will believe anything they want to hear or see. There are people who just listen to the preacher without studying it themselves. The fellow who wrote the song about Noah’s Ark said the animals entered by twos. But the Bible doesn’t say that. The ‘unclean’ animals entered by twos, but the ‘clean’ animals entered by sevens. And people talk about the ‘streets’ of gold but the Bible refers to the ‘street’ of gold. There is only one street. You can check it out.” So, I did, and Tom was right.  Tom continued, "God’s been telling me, ‘You’ve listened to Me with your ears. Now I want you to listen to Me with your heart.’" Tom explained, "When you listen with your ears you use your mind. When you listen with your heart you use your spirit. Your mind tries to justify itself, your mind judges, but your heart loves. And out of the abundance of your heart your mouth speaks," (Luke 6:45). 

              Scott Peck, psychiatrist, and best-selling author (1936-2005) contends that, “The principal form that the work of love takes is attention. When we love another, we give him or her our attention…The act of attending requires that we make the effort to set aside our existing preoccupations and actively shift our consciousness…listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work.  It is because they are not willing to do the work that most people do not listen well,” (“The Road Less Traveled”, 1978). 

     “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him,” (Proverbs 18:13, NKJV).  

            “A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out,” (Proverbs 20:5),

             Loren Hardin was a social worker with SOMC-Hospice for twenty-nine years and is presently an active volunteer. He can be reached at 740.357.6091 or at lorenhardin53@gmail.com. You can order Loren's book, "Straight Paths: Insights for living from those who have finished the course", at Amazon.