James 1:19-21
Today's Passage: James 1:19-21
James is an incredible source of wisdom. It’s very important to remind ourselves that it was written to a believing audience. The book of James teaches us a lot about living out our faith in response to salvation. One writers states, “This book crams 61 imperatives into 108 verses. That means nearly 2.6% of the words in James are imperative verbs. And it’s no surprise: James is a very practical epistle that charges believers with not only hearing the Word, but also acting upon it (Jas 1:22).”
Our passage today hits me especially hard. James will talk about the power of our tongue (our words) more in chapter three. But for now, he introduces the concept with three challenging verses.
James starts by saying, “This you know…” As with many things in the Christian walk, it’s easy to know what to do, but hard to practice. Despite the failure of his audience, James still refers to them as his “beloved brethren,” which illustrates his heart and perspective. This kind of compassion is a struggle for some Christians as they observe the sins of others (James has something to say about that in chapter two).
Basically, being “slow to speak,” is great advice, especially for somebody like me. Just as important as slowing speech is the effort of being “quick to hear.” Listening, and paying attention, and even asking clarifying questions like “What did you mean by that?” or “When you said ________, what I heard was _________,” can do wonders for our relationships and especially our marriages.
Anger does not promote righteousness. Anger is a secondary emotion, meaning that it’s the expression of other emotions like hurt, guilt, or shame. Often, we express anger when the idols of our heart get violated. If my kids or my circumstances disrupt my comfort or plans, I may get angry. If your employee challenges your authority, you might get angry. While it is possible to have righteous anger (Eph 4:26), it’s less common. Most often, our anger stems from selfishness, self-centeredness, and pride.
The “therefore” in verse 21 is, I think, summing up most of chapter 1 and not just our passage today. However, the advice is crucial. Let the Word have its way in you that you may walk in righteousness. Those who have been saved by the shed blood of Christ, must not walk in our former sin and wickedness (this idea is prevalent in the New Testament). Instead, we continually respond to the “implanted Word,” by which God saves people.
Reflection Questions:
How has God challenged you in the book of James so far?
On a scale of 1–10, how much do you need to be reminded to be “quick to hear and slow to speak?” What is one practical step you can take to increase that number?
In the comments, please share a story of a funny instance when you should have been “slow to speak.”
Written By: Tyler Short
James is an incredible source of wisdom. It’s very important to remind ourselves that it was written to a believing audience. The book of James teaches us a lot about living out our faith in response to salvation. One writers states, “This book crams 61 imperatives into 108 verses. That means nearly 2.6% of the words in James are imperative verbs. And it’s no surprise: James is a very practical epistle that charges believers with not only hearing the Word, but also acting upon it (Jas 1:22).”
Our passage today hits me especially hard. James will talk about the power of our tongue (our words) more in chapter three. But for now, he introduces the concept with three challenging verses.
James starts by saying, “This you know…” As with many things in the Christian walk, it’s easy to know what to do, but hard to practice. Despite the failure of his audience, James still refers to them as his “beloved brethren,” which illustrates his heart and perspective. This kind of compassion is a struggle for some Christians as they observe the sins of others (James has something to say about that in chapter two).
Basically, being “slow to speak,” is great advice, especially for somebody like me. Just as important as slowing speech is the effort of being “quick to hear.” Listening, and paying attention, and even asking clarifying questions like “What did you mean by that?” or “When you said ________, what I heard was _________,” can do wonders for our relationships and especially our marriages.
Anger does not promote righteousness. Anger is a secondary emotion, meaning that it’s the expression of other emotions like hurt, guilt, or shame. Often, we express anger when the idols of our heart get violated. If my kids or my circumstances disrupt my comfort or plans, I may get angry. If your employee challenges your authority, you might get angry. While it is possible to have righteous anger (Eph 4:26), it’s less common. Most often, our anger stems from selfishness, self-centeredness, and pride.
The “therefore” in verse 21 is, I think, summing up most of chapter 1 and not just our passage today. However, the advice is crucial. Let the Word have its way in you that you may walk in righteousness. Those who have been saved by the shed blood of Christ, must not walk in our former sin and wickedness (this idea is prevalent in the New Testament). Instead, we continually respond to the “implanted Word,” by which God saves people.
Reflection Questions:
How has God challenged you in the book of James so far?
On a scale of 1–10, how much do you need to be reminded to be “quick to hear and slow to speak?” What is one practical step you can take to increase that number?
In the comments, please share a story of a funny instance when you should have been “slow to speak.”
Written By: Tyler Short
2 Comments
Thankfully my "slow to speak" story was a near miss. I was on a youth group trip to the southern baptist theological seminary and we were passing a bunch of giant mansions when somebody in the 15 passenger van started talking about how those wealthy people should use more money for God's kingdom. Then I saw a huge house and was about to say "if that person loved Jesus they would sell everything and give it away and follow Jesus". But thankfully right before I said it somebody pointed it out and said that's where Albert Mohler lives, it the parsonage southern seminary gave him when he became the president!
Growing up, I was an avid reader. So in elementary school, my dad had me read a book called parrots perch. It was a good book and probably would have been a great book if I had been old enough for it. But as it was, the horrifying stories were a bit overwhelming for my young mind. Trying to process it, I foolishly shared them with my young friends in the cul-de-sac where I grew up. An older boy from down the street regularly came down to play kickball with us; he was there that day, and seemed horrified that I was reading that kind of thing. I foolishly tried to make things better by pretending I hadn't read it. I said, "Never mind, I just made all that up." Of course that only made it worse, lol.