Not everyone will agree with what we have to say. And we won’t agree with every opinion of others as well. But part of love and maturity is at least hearing each other out and seeking to understand as best as we can.
For instance, it generally doesn’t take long into marriage before we find ourselves disagreeing with our wife on any number of issues. And once our pride and ego get involved, we stop listening to her point of view – either outright ignoring or otherwise trying to dominate the conversation in our favor. And we’re not really caring for her heart, or ours, when we simply cave into her and fake the peace either.
A mature marriage requires us to hear each other out. This means taking the time to truly listen to what she has to say and why it’s important to her. And ideally she offers us this same respect as well.
This keeps us from simply talking past each other or always being adversaries.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we will always agree with each other even still. Even after many deep and thoughtful considerations on issues we might still find ourselves with differences of opinion.
But it’s also very likely that as we hear each other out that we discover new and creative ways to approach the issues than either one of us thought of before on our own.
Hearing each other out challenges our assumptions and exposes our blind spots. And even when our original position doesn’t change, we can often return to it with deeper appreciation and insights. We have a stronger position because we were humble enough to hear another point of view.
And while this is true for marriage, it holds for the rest of our life and relationships as well. With friends and coworkers, kids and even political rivals, it’s good to hear each other out.
In the end, your point of view is not the only valid perspective. Learn to hear each other out and gain a deeper appreciation for the issues at hand.
Photo by Charlie Foster on Unsplash
