Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. James 1:19
The speed with which the brain absorbs knowledge is inversely proportion to the speed with which the tongue is traveling. How’s that for a theory? I can’t provide scientific proof for my theory, but almost eight decades of living have given me plenty of practical experience that we learn far less when we are talking than when we are listening. So today’s text is good advice for everybody, although it is especially important for us as Christians.
As our text declares, if we are swift to hear, we will be slow to speak, and that will lead to us being slow to wrath. Being swift to hear and slow to speak means we will place more importance on hearing than we do on speaking. That is more than just common sense and common courtesy. It also shows an attitude of Christ-like humility, of recognizing that what others say may well be more important than what I have to say. The natural human attitude is to promote self, but the spiritual attitude is to subdue self. Being swift to hear means we may hear something that will do us more good than anything we might have to say. Being slow to speak also means that if we are wrong, we may be able to avoid saying wrong things. And that would be good.
Wrath in the Scriptures is almost always bad. When we read of the wrath of God, it is always against sin. And that is the only wrath that is justified for the Christian. That means that wrath against our fellow Christians is always wrong, regardless of the reason. So is wrath against unbelievers, regardless of the reason. We will have disagreements because we are human beings sharing a world with other human beings. We will also encounter wrath from unbelievers and, sadly, from believers. But our response to wrath should not be wrath. We have no right to be wrong just because others are wrong. And if we obey our text, being swift to hear and slow to speak, the temptation and the opportunity to respond with wrath will seldom occur.
Listen up. Someone else might have something important to tell us. Shut up. What we want to say just might not be the best thing to say. Avoid wrath. We will be more like our Lord if we do. – Jim MacIntosh