Selective Listening: Are You Sure this is the Truth?

Don't think or judge, just listen. (Sarah Dessen)

Even though we hear something, it does not mean that what we listen is the same thing as what the speaker said. 

Selective listening happens when we judge by using our own perception, which later on causes misunderstanding, or in a more severe case, riot happens.

There was a scene in the movie 'Long Long Time Ago' where the antagonist, Ah Kun, spread the rumors about the conflict between the Chinese and Malay. He was driving illegal taxi when he met his brother, Ah Hee, who was guarding for a road block. 

Ah Hee told him, "There was some conflict happening between Malay and Chinese in front there." Once Ah Kun heard that there was a riot happening, he turned really panic and thought that people started to kill each other in the riot. 

(Gosh! These are totally two different thing.)

Therefore, he ran to the factory to inform his family that, "There was a riot! They chopped off people' hands and feet! Malay were killing Chinese!" And that was where the rumors and the panic spread out.

In 1969, race riot happened in Singapore which might caused by the race riot in Malaysia at the same time. It was the second race riot in Singapore after the first one in 1964. The riot in 1964 had left behind a serious psychological impact towards the two races. As portrait in the movie, not only Ah Kun and his family, but the Malay villagers as well, were worried and suspicious. Fortunately, the Singapore government took rapid action to stop the rumors by sending officer to explain to the people door to door. 

If you attach yourself to the evil, you will feel evil, 

and wicked tings will be conveyed to you.

If you attach yourself to good, you will feel good 

and good things will be conveyed to you.

                                                                         - Pastor Joshua Jung Myeong Seok

Using your own thinking to listen is quite risky. Selective listening happens when you ONLY HEAR WHAT YOU WANT to hear. What we hear may not be the truth because we use our preconception to listen. If you have good intention, anything you hear will be good and vice versa.

I think Ah Kun was terrified by the scary scenes where people was killing each other and meanwhile he was very panic once he heard the word "conflict". Therefore, whatever he hear, he perceived it as "killing each other".

Sometimes it may happen to you and me.

Thus, before you determine whether it is good or bad, listen 100% without your own judgment and seek for the truth.