BE QUICK TO LISTEN AND BE SLOW TO SPEAK

Proclamation:

"My dear brothers, take note of this; everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept The Word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are The Holy Spirit inspired words of James, the half-brother of Jesus, who became a pillar of the early Church after the resurrection of Christ.  James wrote to the people of God to provide them with guidance regarding their behavior.  He was encouraging them to exercise self-control, to listen to others more often, and to be think before they speak or become angry.  He told them that they should not say or do anything which would displease God, and they should humbly accept and display The Word of God, and The Holy Spirit of God, which was within them.

Application:

It has been said that the reason we have two ears and one mouth, is that maybe we ae supposed to spend twice as much time listening as we do talking. (Author unknown)  James encouraged believers to listen to others, but he did not say that they should believe everything that they hear.  He said believers should be slow to speak, meaning that we should hear what the other person has to say before we respond.  Additionally, we should think about what they said and what we are going to say, before we speak.  James said that we should be slow to get angry, because when we get angry, we often say and do things which are not consistent with the Christ-like life that we should live.  We also should always be ready to listen to The Word of God, and we should welcome every opportunity to gain a better understanding of it.  We should be very cautious and slow to teach or tell others about The Word of God without first giving our words careful consideration and much thought, least we mis-speak.  If The Word of God is within us, then we should let it shine forth for others to see by our actions, which will speak much louder than our words.