Sixth, we must deal with the very way we listen. A man may be somewhat gifted and talented. But as long as he is inaccurate with his words, there is a gaping hole in his character. This one flaw alone will cost him all of his power. How unfortunate that many of God's workers have become information centers! Brothers and sisters, as the Lord's workers we come into constant contact with people and have therefore many opportunities to hear others speak as well as to speak to others ourselves. If we are not disciplined and restricted in our words, it is very possible that while we are speaking God's word, we are spreading rumors and gossip at the same time. If our words are not disciplined, we may be building up God's work with one hand and destroying it with the other. Hence, we have to look to God to apply strict discipline to our ears. Brothers and sisters often want to tell us their personal stories. We should do our best to listen to them. We should be a good listener, and we should realize their problem and render them the proper help. When others speak to us, we should listen to them to take care of their need and solve their problem. But we must discourage them from going into any further detail once we are inwardly clear about their need. We should tell them to stop. We can say, "That is enough. You can stop here." It is wrong to listen with curiosity to what others have to say and to treat their words as stories or tall tales. All we need to do is to realize their problem. As soon as we know and have some assurance about it, we should say, "Brother, that is enough." We should not have a lust for information. Human beings have a lust for knowing other people's business; they have a lust for listening. There is a lust for knowledge, a lust for listening. But we must listen with guarded caution. As soon as we reach the limit, we should stop. Our listening is for the purpose of taking care of our prayer and for solving problems. We should listen only to take care of our brothers' and sisters' problems. At a certain point, we should stop listening.

Seventh, we have to gain and maintain people's trust. If anyone shares his spiritual problems with us, that is a trust he has placed with us. We must not speak about these confidences carelessly. Unless the interests of the work make it necessary, we should not repeat these things loosely. If we have never been disciplined in our words, we cannot participate in God's work. God's servants are entrusted with many things. They need to treat such confidences as a sacred trust and guard them faithfully. These words are entrusted to us; they are not our possessions but are objects entrusted to us in our ministry and our divine service. We cannot release them at will. We must learn to safeguard and protect every spiritual confidence placed in us by the brothers and sisters. We cannot spread these things irresponsibly. If our responsibility or God's work or human needs calls for their divulgence, that is another story altogether. At any rate, a multitude of words always brings in a loss, a great loss. Those who are wordy and who pass on words easily cannot be entrusted with the Lord's work. We should receive warning from the Lord. May He restrict our words, and may we not open our mouth rashly or speak lightly. Whether or not a person is disciplined is most easily seen from the way he controls his tongue. If a man is disciplined, his tongue will always be restricted. We should pay particular attention to this matter.