We’ve spent about a month working on the New Testament epistle of James in my Bible Study Methods class. It’s a five chapter letter full of proverbs and wisdom on Christian living. It raises quite a high standard for those who follow Christ. For me, it became a source of great sadness as I realized (again) my complete inability to live the way God calls us. James presents a clear reminder that “all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
The letter encourages readers to “be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:21). Those of you that know me know a verbal person who likes to talk for hours on end about almost anything. You also know that I’m extremely passionate about certain things. Such passion often leads to anger and frustration when I’m unable to fully influence others. So for me, the first half of this verse is tough medicine. In life, be quick to listen instead of just thinking about your feelings and thoughts and planning what you are going to say next. He’s not talking about me, is he?!? After you’ve listened to someone, be slow to speak. Don’t fly off the handle . . . don’t react based solely on emotion. Take a minute. Process what has been said and what’s really going on in the heart of the person who has been speaking. Regardless of their response, be slow to anger. These are hard commands to apply in life.
Until James explains the purpose of the proverb. “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” What a filter for life! Do my actions produce the righteousness of God? Flying off the handle without listening and responding to others with anger may make me feel better, may help release some steam . . . but these actions do not achieve the righteousness of God. So this proverb all of sudden gives us a grid, a filter to examine not only our actions but our motives and priorities. Is it more important for me to express myself and win influence or let my life be a conduit for God’s righteousness.
After Heather and I have both had hard days at the office and we’re not quite on the same page, its awfully easy – and a miss of God’s mark – to not actively listen, to respond to her words quickly, and let my anger rear its ugly head. So I’ve been working on this – listening more, talking less (not making much progress on this one) and being attuned to my anger level. Because I want my life to produce God’s righteousness everywhere that I go and with everyone that I know. It seems that James presents one of God’s upside down commands to us in his letter. Don’t do what is easy, pursue what is hard – and know that He will meet us and use us in that place.
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