Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger
While preparing for family worship this morning I started writing out what I was going to speak to my children about and found myself writing out things that I needed to apply to our whole family. To the tens and tens of readers of this blog I thought I would share these thoughts.
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20
Let every person - By saying "my beloved brother" James implies that that the phrase "every person" means every brother and sister in Christ; all Christians. For it is impossible for the following disciplines to be learned and accomplished without the changing power of Christ.
Quick to hear - There must be a willingness and a readiness to not only hear audibly but listen and comprehend. Hearing and listening require humility. It requires putting aside what we want to say long enough to audibly and comprehensively submit to another's words.
Slow to speak - In offering the one side of hearing, James provides the other side of speaking. Quick to hear equals slowness to speak. After humbling oneself to listen and comprehend, pride is pushed further back by returning words and thoughts slowly. James is not speaking about slowness in actual speed but in a way that displays no need for haste and an absolute need for wisdom which is never hasty.
Slow to anger - Finally pride is pushed back a third time. First pride is pushed back making it possible to listen intently. Secondly pride is pushed back making it possible to answer with steady wisdom instead of foolish haste. And lastly pride is put aside to enable our spirit (the Holy Spirit in us) to exhibit slowness to anger.
Quick tempers are always flared up by pride and yet here James tells all brothers in Christ to BE slow to anger. There are many benefits to mastering this discipline, the least of which is pushing pride so far back that grace is allowed to come forward and be made more evident in the believer. It is grace that assists us in completing the discipline of slowing our anger. It is grace that allows for righteousness in us. James explicitly tells us in verse 20, "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." So where there is pride there cannot be a quickness to hear, a slowness to speech and a slowness to anger. Additionally where there is anger born of the pride of man there cannot and will not be the righteousness of God. To make that a little more personal as I did in our family worship time let me say it this way. If our homes are filled with pride and anger then there is no room for the righteousness of God. There is no room for His holiness and purity and goodness while our homes are filled with anger and pride. We must also remember that anger and pride are not just evident in abusive homes but in homes filled with sarcasm and harsh words. These characteristics are not just evident in violence and bitterness but in how we speak to our children and how are children speak to us and each other. Parents we must be the ultimate example to our children in this matter for when they fail in these disciplines it will test our success in the same disciplines.
Through Christ pushing pride further and further away and through Christ bringing grace more and more to the forefront of our lives we can see the fruit of God's righteousness being produced in us and in our homes. Then we will look set apart as Christian homes are called to look.
Until the next dip in the well...
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20
Let every person - By saying "my beloved brother" James implies that that the phrase "every person" means every brother and sister in Christ; all Christians. For it is impossible for the following disciplines to be learned and accomplished without the changing power of Christ.
Quick to hear - There must be a willingness and a readiness to not only hear audibly but listen and comprehend. Hearing and listening require humility. It requires putting aside what we want to say long enough to audibly and comprehensively submit to another's words.
Slow to speak - In offering the one side of hearing, James provides the other side of speaking. Quick to hear equals slowness to speak. After humbling oneself to listen and comprehend, pride is pushed further back by returning words and thoughts slowly. James is not speaking about slowness in actual speed but in a way that displays no need for haste and an absolute need for wisdom which is never hasty.
Slow to anger - Finally pride is pushed back a third time. First pride is pushed back making it possible to listen intently. Secondly pride is pushed back making it possible to answer with steady wisdom instead of foolish haste. And lastly pride is put aside to enable our spirit (the Holy Spirit in us) to exhibit slowness to anger.
Quick tempers are always flared up by pride and yet here James tells all brothers in Christ to BE slow to anger. There are many benefits to mastering this discipline, the least of which is pushing pride so far back that grace is allowed to come forward and be made more evident in the believer. It is grace that assists us in completing the discipline of slowing our anger. It is grace that allows for righteousness in us. James explicitly tells us in verse 20, "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." So where there is pride there cannot be a quickness to hear, a slowness to speech and a slowness to anger. Additionally where there is anger born of the pride of man there cannot and will not be the righteousness of God. To make that a little more personal as I did in our family worship time let me say it this way. If our homes are filled with pride and anger then there is no room for the righteousness of God. There is no room for His holiness and purity and goodness while our homes are filled with anger and pride. We must also remember that anger and pride are not just evident in abusive homes but in homes filled with sarcasm and harsh words. These characteristics are not just evident in violence and bitterness but in how we speak to our children and how are children speak to us and each other. Parents we must be the ultimate example to our children in this matter for when they fail in these disciplines it will test our success in the same disciplines.
Through Christ pushing pride further and further away and through Christ bringing grace more and more to the forefront of our lives we can see the fruit of God's righteousness being produced in us and in our homes. Then we will look set apart as Christian homes are called to look.
Until the next dip in the well...
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