Tenth Avenue North | 6 years ago

Mike explains the meaning behind the song "I'm Listening" from the forthcoming album, The Things We've Been Afraid To Say.

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Our EP is called "The Things We've Been Afraid To Say", and so, perhaps a bit ironically, it ends with a song about listening. We're told in Scripture be slow to speak, quick to listen. When someone comes to you with deep secret - a shameful secret - what's your first response?Is it, "ew! I can't believe - Ew! That's ew!" ?
Or is it more of a gospel infused reaction? Where, no matter what that person is telling you they've done, or what's been done to them, you respond with grace-filled language. A response like, "oh, is that all you got?".
I would argue that that's the only appropriate first reaction when we hear of some secret, shameful thing, because deep down we believe that the blood of Jesus is stronger than the worst of our sin. That's what I'm trying to communicate in this song.
Mother, sister, and brother. I have a mother in my life, a sister in my life, and a brother in my life. We've all experienced the tragedy of sexual abuse, and as I leaned into all three of their stories, I found a common thread that they felt no safe place to bring the secret, and it got me thinking, man, so many of us are so quick to tell people what's right and wrong, we're so quick to offer our opinion, but we're told in James be slow
to speak.We're told in Romans: weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice.
And so I say sometimes - I don't know if you saw that movie Inside Out, you remember that Pixar movie, and then there's that moment that Joy - she looks and Sadness has helped make the girl feel better, and she goes, "how did you do that?" and she said, "sometimes being sad with someone is what brings them to
healing".
And so the next time someone comes to you with a big, bad, dark secret, man, I hope you know that you have been privileged by God to do as Jesus did, who, before Jesus came to fix it, He felt it. Right? Before Jesus healed anyone, He lived among us for thirty years.
So, take a pause, take a breath, and before you say anything, say, "I'm listening".

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