Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James was writing to “beloved brothers”, not just to casual acquaintances. When you truly love someone, you want to warn them away from bad choices and bad habits which will cause them harm. James felt the same way. In this case, he was warning his brothers in Christ about impulsivity and volatility.
Isn’t it just human nature to do the very opposite … to be slow to hear, but quick to speak and quick to anger? As we’ve written before, what we refer to as “human nature” is really the sin nature which lives in all of us. Paul makes that quite clear in Romans 3, where he writes “None is righteous, no, not one“, and “All have turned aside“. An impulsive response without waiting to hear all the facts often leads to anger, and unjustified anger does not bring anyone closer to obtaining the righteousness of God. It is our impulsive response to trials and troubles which often leads us in to “filthiness and rampant wickedness”.
James urges his readers, including us, to turn that human habit around, to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger“, so that we have a chance to call upon God’s strength to support and guide us, that we may avoid the evils which impulsivity and anger would lead us into.
James also encourages us to “receive with meekness the implanted word“. Note that the word is IMPLANTED. God’s word won’t do us much good if we just drive by and glance at it. It won’t have much effect upon us if we just read through a few perfunctory verses without giving much thought to their meaning and application. God’s word must be firmly implanted in our hearts to truly change our lives. In the next verse following today’s passage, James writes “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Being doers of the word is how we demonstrate that His word has been implanted in our hearts.
Here’s how I’m applying this scripture to myself, by asking these questions:
- Am I a better (more patient, more thorough, more compassionate) listener than I used to be? Than I was last year?
- Am I slow to react to negatively-perceived things that people do and say, first giving thought to their circumstances and points of view I might not know about?
- Am I living a cleaner, less-sinful life than I was last year? Am I demonstrating that God’s word is taking root in my heart?
Rod's Quiet Time 