Friends: Some sweet advice in a very unsweet environment from the daughter of my high school classmate Julie (Foster) Black: Slow to Listen ©Haylie’s Music 2024. Song link and column below. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #929

September 3, 2024

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Slow to Listen    

By Bob Walters

“Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of life that God desires.” – James 1:19-20

Anybody out there a little angry these days?  Anybody’s heart a little hard regarding politics, culture, public insincerities, and malignant media misdirection?

Take a worthwhile one minute and thirty one seconds (1:31), and listen to this song: LINK (also @hayliesings).

That’s Haylie Allcott, daughter of my Kokomo (Ind.) High School classmate Julie Black (then Julie Foster, KHS 1972) who has been married all these years to Gary Black.  Gary is the recently retired long-time pastor of Clayton (Ind.) Christian Church (1988-2023), where Julie served as its angelic-voiced worship pastor. It is clear Haylie picked up the family Holy Spirit talent and ran on ahead with it.  

Haylie’s song Slow to Listen hit me in the heart.  Yes, it’s more politics than worship, but I could barely speak after the first couple of times I heard the song. 

Mea culpa. That’s me she’s singing about.

Shift the narrative to Jerusalem two thousand years ago when religion and politics were blood sports.  Don’t you wonder how Jesus knew when to speak and act, not to speak and act, and always knew the truth clearly and distinctly from the lies?

Well, no, you don’t wonder, because He was Jesus.  In our current American political environment, I’ve discovered I’m not very good at listening first.  Though, in fairness, it’s not like I’m the only one committing that sin. I pray for grace and mercy.

Focused now more on Jesus, the church, religion, and doctrine, I’ve grown to some station of maturity in what I do and do not let upset me. Jesus always recognized truth because He was truth and is truth.  Life’s pedantic passions like politics can get the better of any of us, but Haylie’s message is one I deeply appreciate her sharing.  It is a right and timely – and beautiful – piece of artistic expression. It paints my heartache.

I’m not ashamed to say I’m actually OK with the political side I’m on in our very divided country.  But I am willing to take a deep breath and ask … always ask … “Am I the problem?” With the exception of Jesus, it’s the people who will never ask, “Am I the problem?” who most consistently are the problem.  But I’ll not apologize for freedom.

Jesus didn’t have to wonder if He was the problem, because He knew He was the solution to every problem humans have.  Our challenge in this life – well, one of the challenges anyway – is to seek truth, not the correct public opinion.  Haylie’s line “how quickly I forget that you are human” reveals perhaps the greatest of our modern sins.

I love the book of James for its Proverbs-like simplicity of advice written to Jesus-believing Jews scattered far from Jerusalem.  James also said “repent!” by which he meant, “Think about Christian faith, not Jewish Law.” It’s how I want to think.

I’m neither a musician nor a music critic, but I do sense the angelic in Haylie’s Christian heart, musical phrasing, talent, and poetic sensibility.

Unbeknownst to me, Julie – until a couple years ago we hadn’t spoken in 50 years – long ago at Milligan College became friends with Paul Blowers and then also with his dad, beloved East 91^st Street Christian Church minister – and my Christian writing mentor – Russ Blowers. That history combines to make the music even sweeter.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) doesn’t doubt his political positions, but could work on his charity and kindness. BTW, E91 Church celebrates 100 years this month (LINK).

Credits: Slow to Listen ©Haylie’s Music 2024, also @hayliesings

(Special P.S. to our high school peeps: Haylie sounds – and looks – just like her mom.)