WHO HAS OUR EAR?

Quiet the Outside Noise

Gail Oliver Cambridge | August 2026

Who are we listening to? We all have our favorite artist, celebrity, pastor, maybe even a politician who has our ear. However, are we really paying attention to what we’re being told and accepting of it?

Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube share endless information—some that’s so incredulous to make us wonder what in the world people are doing, and some that may actually be plausible. It’s not only social media that can lure us in but the spam calls, texts, and emails we receive with promises of a quick fix to our problems or ways to make easy money.

I like action movies but stop watching when they go overboard with the vulgarity and violence…how many bullets do they have to pop into the bad guy before he’s dead?! That along with all the bad news and horror stories in this country and around the world make me want to metaphorically put my hands to my ears to drown out the noise.

Then there are those who are close to us who come with the gossip (sigh, I know we love to hear the tea~) or sad stories and others who offer sound guidance. Regarding the latter, we should not discount folks who are younger or older than we are believing they can’t give us good advice. Depending on who has our ear, they might take us down a rabbit hole that negatively affects our lives or build us up so that we make wise decisions.

Should we be fearful or dismissive of everything and everyone? Absolutely not! There are people who truly have our best interests at heart—people who work to change laws and practices that benefit many of us, open doors of opportunity, and provide support. However, we must be careful about who influences us, using discernment and awareness as we decide what to listen to and accept.

To mute the outside chatter, we must pause, take deep breaths, and center ourselves before the noise of the day begins. Tomorrow morning, as we awake, let’s begin with gratitude: thank God for breathing life into us for another day, remembering that many did not receive that gift. Let’s not reach for the phone (resist the temptation!) but be silent for a while (take bathroom break if needed~), then pray for God to guide our thoughts, eyes, and ears so that everything we encounter—including our responses to opposition—is met with calm and filtered through His wisdom.

As we make it a daily practice to yield our minds and bodies to Him, we will begin to tune out the unnecessary noise, allowing His peace to quiet our spirits and His wisdom to guide our steps.