-May 26, 2022-
Good morning, happy Thursday,
“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
(James 1:19-20).
James always tells like it is. He gives us three ways to avoid trouble: be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. If we take his advice, things will go much better for us in every aspect of life. These principles are timeless, tried, and true.
I. Be swift to hear – God gave us two ears to hear with. It is one thing to hear the words, but do we really listen when others are speaking to us? Or are we just thinking of what we are going to say next? Developing good listening skills comes with time, experience, and most of all wisdom. How do we do it? Maintain eye contact, and focus on what the other person is saying. Others can tell if we aren’t listening. Listening takes a lot of practice.
II. Be slow to speak – Most of us are better talkers than we are listeners. In fact, we talk too much: about ourselves, our successes, our achievements, our kids, and our interests. We must talk less, especially about ourselves, so that when we do speak, others will listen. James spent most of chapter three speaking of the untamable tongue. The more we talk, the more apt we are to say something wrong or harmful to others. James wrote, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).
III. Be slow to wrath – Along with the tongue our temper anger can get us into hot water. Some Christians have a greater propensity to anger than others, but all if us must be on guard. Whenever we get angry for some wrong done to us, it is sin. The only permissible anger is righteous anger, meaning we get angry when God’s cause is hurt. Losing our tempers is never good and can tarnish our testimony before the unsaved and affect our relationships with others. Just remember anger is stored before it it poured, and it hurts us more than it does those we are angry with.
Praise God for these three simple, yet important admonitions to follow: be swift to hear (be a good, attentive listener); be slow to speak (be a person of few but impactful words); and be slow to wrath (be cool, calm, and collected). We will save ourselves so much trouble. May the Lord enable us to build and maintain healthy relationships.
Have a blessed day trusting the Lord to help us. Stay safe and healthy.
In His eternal grace,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 