A Word from Your Mission Strategist, Steve Laughman
“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20
James, the brother of our Lord, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit had a way of writing practical, punch-you-in-the-gut theology. If I am being completely honest, I have wrestled with James many times. His instructions are not easy, nor do they come naturally even to those who love the Lord passionately. So, let us wrestle with these words for a few minutes.
We know he is addressing believers from his salutation, “beloved brethren.” In other words, these instructions are for us, not the world. We cannot expect people who are dead in their sin to be slow to speak or slow to anger. Lower your expectations of how you think lost people ought to act, and you will be much less surprised when they sin openly. The sinfulness of man is on full display. This grieves the heart of God and should drive every one of us to our knees.
Being quick to hear is a learned skill. Too often we hear sound bites or one side of the story and jump to a conclusion. What would happen if we intently listened to all the information before responding? Would it change the way we process information? Would it give us the time to make sure we are filtering what we hear through a Christian worldview? Do we take into consideration who the information is coming from before we respond? As followers of Jesus we have a responsibility to become better listeners.
Being slow to speak is another skill we should all possess. I have heard that a pitfall of effective communication is when someone begins formulating his response as the other person is still speaking. As a debater in high school, I was taught to do this. It is a hard habit to break. Christians are to be slow to speak. We are to always speak the truth in love. Truth without love is condemnation. Love without truth is not genuine love. When we are slow to speak, we are able to guard against a purely emotional response. It also gives us the time to ensure our response honors God and respects people.
Being slow to anger flows from the other two skills. If we master being quick to hear and slow to speak, it will be much easier to avoid anger. However, this is the one that most of us struggle with. There is much in this world to be angry about. Constant lies being promoted as truth. Children being exploited. Violence erupting all around us. It is no wonder James warns against being quick to anger. Paul (Eph. 4:26-27) also warns that in our anger we are not to sin, because it gives the devil an opportunity. He relishes these opportunities to break fellowship, to ruin testimonies, to remind the world that we are sinful, and to create barriers to the Gospel. Be angry at sin, not at those who sin.
Why is all this important? James spells it out: our anger does not achieve the righteousness of God. If our singular goal is to glorify God as we point people to Jesus, we do not accomplish this by being quick to anger. Our anger is counter-productive to our primary task. So, when you read that social media post or view that news broadcast, or when you hear the latest political ad or conspiracy theory, check your response. Ask yourself if you are being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Satan would love nothing more than to divide Christians into warring camps, so that our witness is no longer effective. The Gospel is bigger than this world’s conflicts. Find your identity in Christ alone, not a political party or ideology. And when someone disagrees with you, be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
