The world is changed by listeners.

And people are almost alarmed when they are actually listened to. "Being heard is so close to being loved," wrote David Augsburger, "that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable."

I guess good listening begins with how we listen to God. Smack dab at the beginning of Numbers 3, I recently found myself introduced to two characters of the Bible I knew nearly nothing about: Nadab and Abihu, the two priestly sons of Aaron. Perhaps you've never heard of them either—I'd be shocked to find that either character is a household name in even the most pious of Jewish or Christian homes. With their subtle anonymity they are given a brief introduction and a dreary conclusion. One verse is devoted to their demise:

"Nadab and Abihu … died before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai." (Num. 3:4)

They were priests who died before the Lord. Leviticus offers a little more explanation, telling ...