“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Matthew 18:15-20

Yep, today's text is a classic on church discipline. But rather than seeing this in light of the word "discipline," see this text in light of the word "listen." Can't you see that your propensity to "listen" directly correlates to your ability to discover the value of agreement, freedom, brotherhood, and God's presence "on earth" and "in heaven."

Stop being deaf. Deaf to the truth. And stop being stubborn. Being stubborn to people who want to help you. People that love you have something to say that might help. Maybe it's time for you to listen more carefully. While I am prone to feel bad for the man above who won't listen, that person is me. It's you. If we just listened, maybe we could avoid the need for "discipline," and the process would end with the very first sentence. "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone."

DO THIS: Stop being deaf and listen to the truth.

PRAYER: God, help me to shut my mouth and listen and accept the truth about me.