Slow To Speak And Quick To Listen

The Book of James, Chapter 1 and verses 19 and 20 states:

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath(anger); for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Jesus was a man who was known to be slow to speak and quick to listen.

Remember when the Pharisees brought the women caught in adultery before Him to test Him and they wanted to stone her?

What did He do? He sat down and He wrote with his finger in the sand.

He took His time and then He looked up and said, “He who is without sin throw the first stone.”

They all threw the stones down on the ground and walked away.

The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Now listen to this: The message says, “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue and let anger straggle along in the rear.”

Remember that old saying we were taught at school - sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me?

Oh my dear friend, it is the wrong way around, isn’t it?

Sticks and stones - when you get hurt, you can get healed but those words can stay with a man forever.

Human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose. The Passage Translation says:

“We must come with the opposite spirit if we want God to resolve our problems.”

You say, “It is very hard Angus.” I can tell you, I agree with you.

Why don’t we start to count to ten before we say the thing that we want to say in anger? And you will find that we probably won’t even say it.

I remember somebody sending me a little clip a while ago on my cell phone and it brought me to tears.

It goes like this: A little boy was always late at school. His teacher would stand him in front of the whole class and hit him on the hands with a strap, and make him cry.

Day after day, he was always late for school, and the teacher would lose his temper and smack him on the hands with a leather strap, until one day the teacher was coming to school and he noticed a little boy coming out of a house.

But this little boy was pushing a wheelchair and in the wheelchair was his little brother.

He was taking him to a special class before he came to his own class, and that is why he was always late, and when he came into the class, the last time, the teacher broke down and wept and hugged him and then let him go and sit in his place.

Be careful! Be careful that in the heat of the moment, you do something and say something that you will regret.

Lets be like Jesus today and lets think about the situation before we say it and we probably won’t say it at all!