Take Heed How You Hear

Jesus warned: “Take heed how you hear” (Luke 8:18). The “how” speaks of the lens—the paradigm—through which a person hears. This paradigm determines what meaning you draw out of God’s Word and even life’s situations.

How Paradigms Are Formed

No one is born with a fully developed belief system. Our paradigms are shaped over time by:

• Life experiences (pleasant or painful),

• The words and actions of authority figures (parents, teachers, pastors),

• Our interpretation of lived events (what we think those events “mean”),

• Personal choices and the need to protect ourselves from harm.

The mind, seeking safety, often chooses the path of least resistance. When repeated, that choice forms a belief. Over time, every decision made in line with that belief strengthens it—until the belief itself becomes a prison.