Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

James 1:19 (NIV)

My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

The late Adrian Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, was a powerful preacher who had a great gift in organizing his sermons using clever alliteration.  His sermon on this verse was entitled: “Tune In, Tone Down, Sweeten Up”. 

You tune in by truly listening to others.  Recall that Jesus often used the statement after telling a story—“He who has ears, let him hear”?  The word “hear” is “akouo” that means “to understand”.  You may hear others, but do you listen sufficiently to understand?  Have you ever thought about the fact that God gave you two ears and only one mouth?  You must listen before you speak.  We all know that we could do a better job of listening.  How can you do a better job of listening to your spouse……your children/grandchildren……..your friends and neighbors…….your co-workers……..and, yes, indeed……..your customers (we all have customers even if you are not in the service business).  Those with the gift/ability of teaching especially have to work on being better listeners as it is our tendency to talk too much! 

How can you a better job of listening to God?  Three ways that we listen to God—reading the Scriptures (Romans 10:17), listening to sermons and other teaching (Romans 10:14) and listening to the Spirit (Psalm 62:5 and 46:10) via your quiet time.

You tone down by thinking before you speak.  Listen to what Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 LB says: “…keep your ears open and your mouth shut….let your words be few….being a fool makes you a blabbermouth….your mouth is making you sin…there is ruin in a flood of empty words.”  James 3:2 states “The tongue is such a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do”.  Amen to that!  Someone once said “How many homes have been broken, churches split, reputations ruined, hearts broken, and souls lost because people did not apply this principle (i.e. be slow to speak)”? 

You sweeten up by controlling what you hear and what you say.  Ecclesiastes 7:9 says “Do not be eager in your heart to be angry for anger resides in the bosom of fools”.  Anger is proof that the Jesus is not the Lord of your life.  Anger opens the door to many sins.  Proverbs 29:22 says that “An angry man stirs up strife and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression”.  Anger and temper advertises who you truly are within.  Has any marriage survived or flourished from frequent anger and out-of-control temper? 

Did you know that James also related anger to high blood pressure?  James 3:6 talks about the angry tongue that will defile the whole body and set the body on fire of hell.  What’s a body that is “on fire of hell”?  It is a body that has high blood pressure caused by anger that releases catecholamines (e.g. adrenalin) that constricts the blood vessels producing the “flight or fight” syndrome.  God indeed put this syndrome as part of our anatomy, but like so many of God’s creations, they can be misused or abused to produce results that God did not intend. 

What causes anger?  Main causes are being hurt, feeling frustrated, and/or having fear.  Think about what causes you to be angry.  Think about driving your car and what causes anger--- the tailgater, the excessive speeder, the person not paying attention (especially when talking on the cell phone), the person driving below the speed limit in the passing lane, and so forth………all can cause anger.  Why?  Hurting feelings?  No.  Fear?  Well, except for the dangerous driver, no.  Frustration?  Well, perhaps, but is this enough to cause real anger?  You know what all these emotions boil down to?  Pride.  I’m not getting my way, I’m not driving exactly the speed or leisure that I like, or something else that bothers ME!  It’s always “ME, ME, ME, ME……..” that is the cause of anger. 

No one can completely control his anger, his tongue, his thoughts and his listening habits without Jesus and His Spirit at the realm of his life.  Evaluate yourself, your life, your habits, and soberly ask yourself, who is in control of your life---you or the Lord?