Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19)Clean, simple, easy to understand ... no questions. So ... why is it so rare? (It's ironic, in fact, that James says just two verses later, "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22) when we are so very bad at doing what James 1:19 says.)
The other day I saw a news item over the whole Nancy Guthrie story. NBC has been supportive, but ... some viewers are angry that a few of the news people aren't wearing yellow ribbons. Really? That's an issue to be angry about? I was reading the other day about a fairly recent phenomenon referred to as "outrage culture." It's not that outrage is new. It's that the culture is outraged rather than merely individuals. Or there's "cancel culture" where we shoot down an entire life because of social outrage. It seems like we're a people who are far more easily offended these days. We Christians aren't immune. In fact, we're prone to it. But ... we label it "righteous indignation." Yet, we have this command from James. He isn't vague. We are supposed to be quick to listen. We are supposed to be slow to speak and slow to anger. Instead we're not very good listeners, but we are really quick on the mouth draw and fast to shoot off in anger. Social media doesn't help. We have a louder platform for our speech and outrage ... sorry ... righteous indignation. But James doesn't leave us to guess why we should be slow to anger. "For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:20) "Hang on, James. Are you saying we aren't making the world a better place in our speedy, angry responses?" Exactly. That's precisely what James is saying.
We Christians--you know ... people of the book ... people with God's Word to guide us--think we have an obligation to correct sin where we find it and we will use moral outrage to do it. Mind you, Jesus did confront sin on occasion in His ministry on earth, but His normal operating procedure was not outrage, but love. We might want to reconsider our approach ... to so many people and things today. Maybe yelling at that driver that cut you off isn't the best response. "Quick to anger" doesn't accomplish what God wants. Maybe we should try listening more to people who disagree with us ... instead of waiting for their lips to stop moving and telling them every way they were wrong. Maybe we should be speaking the truth in love and pursuing their best interests--which begins with knowing Christ--rather than using our tongues and our anger to ... fail to accomplish what we think it should ... what God says it doesn't.
4 comments:
Good stuff this morning. James is a great source of practical ways to live out our faith.
As you note, our society encourages and amplifies anger and indignation. I've thought for a while that anger is addictive. We may start with "righteous anger", but between whatever chemical hit we get from expressing that anger and the public approval, publicly expressing anger seems to come more and more easily. I firmly believe that it can be "addictive" and that the approval or rush we get encourages us to move toward anger as our default. I suspect it feeds our pride and narcissism as well.
This might be wrong, but I've also come to think that feeling anger or indignation might not be as much of a problem as publicly expressing anger. I think that getting angry over something that leads to helping deal with the condition that made you angry can be helpful. Screeching about something on social media, less so,
I have found that taking a breath is helpful when I start feeling my hackles rise. That breath gives me a moment to consider what is it that is causing this feeling and how will this effect my witness if I let it out. I find it similarly helpful online. Instead of typing out a response in the moment, let it sit for a few hours. Of course, the other problem is, even if I temper myself and respond with what I think is a measured response, just the fact that I'm disagreeing with them is enough to make them think I'm angry at them.
I have been mulling over James 1:19 since you included it in your post for Monday--considering especially the connection between what’s in my heart and what comes out of my mouth (or via my computer keyboard). I might not participate in expressions of “social outrage” such as you mentioned, but I certainly do encounter plenty of triggers for my own private “anger of man.” While I won’t ever be the proverbial “angry young man,” I can become a cranky old woman if I neglect James’ good advice to “… be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” May I not be known as a “hothead” or one with a “short fuse” or prone to “fly off the handle” but instead be one who seeks to “achieve the righteousness of God” that James promotes through controlled emotions--letting my responses to all things be directed by the Holy Spirit, rather than the “mob mentality” that seems to rule the public square.
That strikes me as a wise practice for emotional engagements--both “counting to ten” and “sleeping on it.” (I use lots of idioms, don’t I? :) I follow those steps myself and agree that they help greatly.
Regarding your last part: As I see it, that situation is commonplace within two-way interactions that are not face-to-face (when reactions can be ascertained fairly well) and is usually caused by less-than-ideal communication efforts by one or both parties. Personally, since good communication is paramount to me, I dislike not knowing how something was received, since I am left wondering if I have spoken “idle words” (see Matt.12:36-37).
Post a Comment