"Not so fast..."

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

James 1:19-20

 

Do you ever get mad or angry with people? What is your first reaction normally? It is human nature to react first out of emotion, with rage and revenge. Most people agree that this is not the most productive of actions, but how do we avoid it? The verse above gives us some insight. We are instructed to "be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry".

Application

Before becoming enraged in anger, we are to be quick to listen. Try to hear what the other person is saying. We should try to put ourselves in their shoes, to see where they are coming from. By becoming quick to listen, we become slow to speak. Most of the time, the first things to come to mind after becoming angry aren't very nice, so we probably shouldn't say them. If we hold off speaking our mind, it allows us to calm down before the problem escalates. By doing these two things, we can be slow to become angry. Following this outline will calm tempers and help solve conflict more efficiently.

Prayer

When we feel anger coming up in our lives, please be with us and remind us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Remind us to slow down and not act out of emotion. Thank you for your Word, which gives us life's instructions. May we follow these words closely as we strive to become better people for you, God.