Immediately after Jesus gave the parable of the sower, He told the crowd, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). His will for us is contained in His word; therefore, it is vital that we are willing to listen.
However, it is not enough just to listen. Shortly after explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “So take care how you listen” (Luke 8:18). It is possible to listen to the right message but not benefit from it because we did not listen in the right way.
How might we listen so that the message does us no good? If we are too arrogant to admit being wrong, we might hear the right message but immediately reject it because it differs from what we believe. We may be biased toward a particular viewpoint and reject the truth that contradicts it. We might be prejudiced against the speaker (for whatever reason) and refuse to accept the message because of that. There are many other possibilities as well.
Rather than listening the wrong way, we need to listen humbly and honestly. This will enable us to accept the truth when we hear it.
So be careful how you listen. If we hear the truth but fail to listen in the proper way, the message will not do us any good. Once we learn about what is right, we must be willing to believe and practice it.