It is really easy to ignore people what we do not know. In our culture we walk right by thousands of people each week with no intention of getting to know them. They are more like background images to our day than they are living breathing people. The same thing is true in the church; we ignore the people we do not know. They are scary... intimidating... sometimes they seem unworthy... or even unnecessary to us if we already have friends. One really easy way to communicate value is to listen. When I listen to someone, I communicate that they are significant enough as a person to deserve my attention. If I do not listen then, it communicates that they are not important enough to merit my attention. If I care enough to listen, people will know they matter.
The Bible tells us that people really matter to God. He created them all. He wants them to be loved and accepted, especially in his Church. Even though he is God, he listens to anyone who wants to talk to him about their hopes and fears. His willingness to care and listen demonstrate his love. Likewise, our willingness to listen and care for people also communicates how much we think people are worth. Even when we don’t think about it, how we treat people tells them how valuable we think they are.
