"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
James 1:19-20
I was once told you were given one mouth and two ears for a reason… You should listen twice as much as you speak… Growing up with 7 siblings, arguments seem to be a daily routine within our household; whether someone was wronged, a (n) item was taken or the channel on the television was switched; it was never a matter of talking through things but rather yelling out of control until our parents stepped in and took whatever we were arguing about away from us… Being rebellious and retaliatory are natural traits of human nature… When someone has wronged us we naturally want to get them back or at the very least let them know our thoughts (most of the time these are not kind words)… If we come to the realization that the state we enter this world in produces negative things, than we will understand that as a child of God we show our maturity and growth in how we resolve issues and communicate with others… Personally speaking, my father will tell you that I was beat the most of any of my siblings and that I caused the most chaos, there was no question that if you crossed my path in a negative manner you were susceptible to my wrath; however over the years I can truly say that I have grown as a child of God because I can turn situations over to the Lord in prayer and not allow my emotions to get the best of me…
To be able to refrain from what comes naturally is a testament to your faith and advancement in the will of God… Sin is natural; however when we make attempts to avoid sin and live a life that is pleasing to God we are displaying the characteristics that a child of God should display and we are living the life that James speaks of in our focus verses today… Self control demonstrates how far we have grown in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… James reminds us today that we must be swift to hear, but slow to speak… In other words, it’s best that you shut your mouth and open your ears… In listening you can better understand someone’s view, you can get a better realization of where they are coming from and also, in hearing you can be better prepared to answer in a many that will promote healing or understanding… If we speak more than we listen, James teaches us today that we are not walking in the will of God…The bible tells us that we are to repay no man evil for evil, but that we are to give room for God’s vengeance and let Him repay… When we try and take matters into our own hands we remove God from the situation and nothing good can come of it… We must learn that there is a difference between listening and hearing… We are called not to simply listen to words, but hear what the meaning of the words are and when we do this we can defuse situations instead of allowing them to spread like a wildfire…
Today let us focus on these verses and test ourselves in the area of hearing; instead of speaking when something goes wrong… Today, hear what the other person has to say, digest what it is that they have said and pray that if and when you open your mouth you do so in a Godly manner and not out of vengeance… When we give place to our own vengeance James tells us that it doesn’t work the righteousness of God… Remember that Jesus was on trial and He heard all the testimonies against Him, He never said a word until a question was posed to Him… Today, let us model Jesus by living according to the will of God and walking in His precepts… It is only by the grace of God and His spirit that we have life and can live; the bible says that when we crossover from this life to the next that our bodies will change (the corruptible must put on incorruptible and the mortal must be clothed with immortality)… We have not crossed over yet, so we are still corruptible and mortal… I say this because sin still lives within us and it displays itself in the areas we allow it too... Proverbs 4:24 says, “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” It’s good for people to see a change in you, it means that you are leaving what comes natural and moving toward what is more spiritual…
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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