Wisdom of James

"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

How quick are we to let our words escape before we have given thought to them? How many times does our "button" get pushed and we are angry over some pettiness or misunderstanding? Scripture tells us to be SLOW to speak and SLOW to wrath (anger), but SWIFT (quick) to hear.

I know that at times it is hard to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and not let words and emotions spew forth from our mouth. After all, we do live in a society that is all about our "freedoms" and "rights" to express our opinions. Although freedom is a privilegde, also bears responsiblity and should not be a license to be unkind and thoughtless with our words and actions. Scripture reminds us over and over to love our brother, not to tear them down with a snide, quick tongue. Romans 13:10a says that "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour..." We are also instructed in scripture to bridle our tongue. (James 1:26) So...although we have the "freedom" to speak our mind, we should do so with caution and thought and under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

How great would it be if Christians followed the advice of scripture concerning our tongue and emotions. If we consciencly took control of our emotions and thoughts, and certainly our tongue, it would change our office lounges, coffee shops, even our churches. If we would take the time to HEAR what others are saying, be SLOW to respond and SLOW to become angry, what differences would we see?

Katie