Fluff and Other Stuff / 要有耐心

[Dexu Xia]

Fluff and Other Stuff

They did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. Exodus 6:9

Winnie the Pooh famously said, “If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”

I’ve learned over the years that Winnie might be on to something. When someone won’t listen to you even though following your counsel would be to their advantage, it may be that their reticence is nothing more than a small piece of fluff in their ear. Or there may be another hindrance: Some folks find it hard to listen well because they’re broken and discouraged.

Moses said he spoke to the people of Israel but they didn’t listen because their spirits were broken and their lives were hard (Exodus 6:9). The word discouragement in the Hebrew text is literally “short of breath,” the result of their bitter enslavement in Egypt. That being the case, Israel’s reluctance to listen to Moses’s instruction called for understanding and compassion, not censure.

What should we do when others won’t listen? Winnie the Pooh’s words enshrine wisdom: “Be patient.” God says, “Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4); it’s willing to wait. He’s not finished with that individual. He’s working through their sorrow, our love, and our prayers. Perhaps, in His time, He’ll open their ears to hear. Just be patient.

要有耐心

他们因苦工愁烦，不肯听他的话。-出埃及记6章9节

经典动画小熊维尼有句名言：“如果对方似乎没有留心听你说话，要有耐心，也许他只是耳朵里有一小团绒毛塞住了。”

我觉得维尼的这句名言或许有些道理。有些人不愿意听你的话，即使对他们有益的劝告也听而不闻，也许只是因为他们的耳朵塞住了。或者是其他原因，如有些人因为伤心愁烦、灰心气馁，而不愿意听从他人的话。

摩西说以色列人不肯听他的话，因他们心里愁烦、生活艰苦（出埃及记6章9节）。在此译为愁烦的希伯来文词语，字面的意思是“喘不过气来”，这是因为以色列人在埃及当奴隶做苦工。以色列人处于这样的环境，不愿意听摩西所说的话是无可厚非的，我们可以理解和同情。

当别人不肯听我们的话时，该怎么做呢？小熊维尼的话确实蕴含智慧，那就是“要有耐心”。上帝说：“爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈”（哥林多前书13章4节），也就是愿意等待。上帝还在塑造那个人，上帝要藉着那人的愁烦，以及我们的爱心关怀和代求而动工。或许到了上帝所定的时候，祂就会使他们的耳朵听见。我们只要有耐心。

当他人不肯接受你的劝诫，
是否让你认识到自己对上帝也是如此？
在与人的关系中，你如何展现爱与耐心？

要有耐心，因上帝还在塑造我们。