The first reason is very obvious. We don't believe in God. If we don't believe in God why would we listen to Him? It's only after we believe that we can look back on the timeline of life and see God at work all along. Words whispered in our ears, angels caring for us, heavenly hosts battling the enemy all while we didn't think there was a God to listen at all. We may have even spurned friends, enemies and other well intentioned beings words about God to us. There are obviously many times we can relish after the fact. Do you remember that accident you missed on the highway way back when? How about the many times you ate questionable food and didn't get sick or die? If we will look, God has always been speaking to us. It's us who haven't been listening...all because we didn't believe.
The second reason is that we didn't have any role models that showed us anything about the caring two way relationship with God. Whether it was a family member, friend, enemy, or any authority over us, we just didn't see the practice what you preach example. It's people who knew, or said they knew God as something other than a swear word and lived beside us in the everyday life. Perhaps they thought they were saved and weren't. Maybe they were saved but felt the pressure to belong and exercised their belief on Wednesday nights and Sunday (unless there was a game on). Perhaps, like me, you witnessed people at funerals and almost always the dead were pawned off as believers who went to be with God. But in all of these examples we didn't see it and worse, we didn't show it if we believed either. We weren't the role models. People did not see Jesus in us.
Sometimes just when we were about to enjoy something that annoying little voice would speak up and spoil the moment. So we shut off the little voice. Maybe we shut off the voice with alcohol, drugs, sex, or even religion! Did I just say religion?! Yep. Alcohol, drugs, and sex are pretty much no brainers. But religion? No so much. You have seen the religious on a large scale like TV expounding on the need for you to part with your treasures so that you can have more treasures if you believe. These people are NOT listening to God. When we see examples like all of these, we begin to turn a deaf ear towards those who say they listen to God but evidence is that they don't. That or they didn't know the voice of God in the first place.
So far in this post I have described so much of my life before Christ and after. I'm guilty of all and more. I just wanted to put this out there so that you knew I wasn't holier than thou.
Shall we continue? For some, there is no listening because there is no recognition of the voice of God. They have been born and raised in the church, know all the right words, and even know when to stand and sing and sit and listen. The passing of the offering is just a motion and dreams of a nice lunch after church captivates our minds as we listen to the choirs closing song. Just because you have been raised to be Christian there is no assurance that you have given your life to Christ. If you have a church relationship, then you listen to Church. If you have a Christ relationship then you listen to Christ.
Finally, there is me. I know what I ought to do because I read and study the Bible. I pray and try to be sensitive to the Spirit improving my life with God. I attend a Bible believing church, see the blessings of God and even miracles! Yet, I choose to not listen when I want to think, do or say what I want and not what God wants. I'm guilty. Some days I can't even make it through morning coffee much less the day without my selfish desires getting in the way. "Well done thou good and faithful servant." Hmmm, not today. Not yesterday either. Off and on? Maybe. Consistent? No. As Paul laments, "wretched man that I am". Romans 7 if you want to look it up. So, I sit here this morning and know that God speaks to me when I am humbled and looking to Him for my all. He is good and faithful even when I am not. When I ask for forgiveness, He gives it. Why? Because He loves me. He wants me to love me too. He wants me to know that his Son, Jesus is living inside of me. He wants us to listen to Jesus and simply obey. No questions asked.
I don't know your reason.
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