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.

God is concerned with the heart, where the seat of our emotions resides. The fruit of emotions can be uplifting or devastating. Anger is a prime example. Our verses of the day, James 1:19-20, speak directly to this attribute that can lead to verbal and physical violence. It’s no wonder that James precedes the caution about anger with the wisdom of “quick to hear, slow to speak.”

I had a pastor who preached on this passage using the rhythm of “quick, sloooooow, sloooooow” to demonstrate the principles embedded in the Scripture. Listening is something we should jump into quickly, but often we jump right over it. “Quick to hear” means holding a posture of openness so that we can readily move into listening mode.

Ironically, it requires slowing our busy lives to have this posture. Like the golfing buddy of mine who used to say, “you swing like that ball is going to move before you hit it!” - we are not prone to doing this. The result is failure to listen to what others are saying, or more importantly, what God is saying to us. I’m still trying to slow my golf swing down!

It has been said that the human mind, especially in our day of immediate gratification and response, is running at a high stress level. On a scale of 1 to 10, many of us can hover daily at 8 or 9. One more stressful event can ratchet us up to 10 whereby the proverbial “wheels come off” and we explode, saying or doing something that we often regret later.  

Later in his letter in Chapter 3, James mentions how the tongue is a small device, yet it can wreak great havoc. The mouth can be the conduit for anger to belittle a fellow Christian or rip apart those opposed to the Gospel. James’ wisdom of “slow to speak” is definitely applicable here.

Anger can also be internalized and, if left unresolved, can manifest itself in bitterness, depression, etc. Honestly, I fall into this camp. I can often hold my tongue but may be bursting inside. My next default is to ignore the person or people altogether. That is my unhealthy response. But there are times when the Holy Spirit convicts me, and I can rightly separate the person from the circumstances. Anger is then replaced with calm, and I can better see the situation and the emotions of the individuals involved.  I may not have the right answer or solution to resolve the conflict, but at least in those moments, God has graciously prevented me from adding gasoline to the fire.

How can calmness replace anger? I believe it comes with understanding who we are in Christ and the peace that a secure identity provides. Don’t mistake peacefulness for peace. We can feel peaceful, yes, but authentic peace comes after we submit our emotions to God’s will.  Anger and our emotions don’t define us. God defines who we are.

Isn’t it good news that the peace Jesus provides is more than a feeling: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Jesus made this promise on the night he would agonize in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood. Jesus could have been angry with the Father for the painful trial coming. And I would go so far as to say, Jesus wasn’t “feeling peaceful,” yet He submitted to the Father’s will. May we also take the path of Jesus and submit to the will of the Father!

Father, give me patience to hold my tongue and to simply listen. May I see people as your creation, made in your image, with feelings and emotions unique to them. Help me to understand my own shortcomings and the ways I try to “fix” myself on my own. Don’t allow anger to build in me but show me when it’s there so that I can give it over to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!