”You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.“ James 1:19-27
It should come as no surprise to anyone that we live in a time of great turmoil. We are three years after a pandemic that turned everyone’s life upside down—followed closely by supply chain issues that have affected every business in one way or another.
Prices have gone up, and it doesn’t seem like there is enough help to get things done the way they used to be done. Based on my observation, the healthcare area has been affected the hardest due to the pandemic. But it is more than that; when you look at the service levels now compared to before the pandemic, you know that things don’t seem to happen as quickly as they used to.
So what happens when the tasks at hand seem to be too much for the people doing them? They start to do their prioritization, while the bosses still look to maintain everything as if it were before.
And in the meantime, everyone has become critical of everything. Nothing is right, and everyone must express dissatisfaction over what is happening.
I find this very interesting, especially in the area of Christianity. We have those who hang on every word of other pastors, looking for the moment when they can jump on something as unbiblical. What I find even more interesting about this is that they do it on platforms where they will profit from it if they get a big enough audience.
I won’t and don’t call out any names in my writing because I don’t want to get caught up in the same trap. But I do write this, praying that if someone reads this and has been consuming their content, they may consider what God’s Word says about this type of thinking.
We’re going to unpack James 1:19 – 27:
You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.
Let’s start with “quick to hear,” I just want to cut to the chase; I will have my response loaded before someone has three words out of their mouth. I have been prayerfully working on this with the Lord’s help. And I find that if you allow people to express themselves, they will come to the proper conclusion.
When I exercise the “quick to hear” part, the “slow to speak” comes naturally. And when we patiently allow this to play out, the “slow to anger” also becomes a by-product of doing this. When do we feel anger? It is when I don’t feel I am expressing myself so that someone understands me. I don’t put this on myself; I set this on what I think is the other person’s ignorance. After all, it’s never my fault that there is miscommunication, right?
Here is the conclusion to our anger: “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.”
My anger comes from me not getting what I want. Nothing more, nothing less.
Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
Now, we take a little turn here, and God wants us to focus on the change He wants us to make. He desires us to work on eliminating the sin in our lives before we concentrate on the sin of those around us. Jesus would say it this way in the most significant message ever preached:
”“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!“ Matthew 7:1-5
And He doesn’t leave us there; He tells us where to find the words that can clean us. Only through the Bible can we discover the words that will cleanse us.
”All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.“ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
I like the way this verse is rendered in the NLT version. It shows “us” how God’s inspired scripture works. It teaches “us,” and it makes “us” realize what is wrong in “our” lives. It corrects “us” when we are wrong. It teaches “us” to do what is right.
We tend to use the Bible as a magnifying glass to examine the world around us, but it should be utilized as a mirror to explore “our” hearts and “our” intentions.
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.
A truly saved person will experience a change in the way they see the world. God’s hands will change their lives. This will come as a natural consequence of a redeemed life. This is what makes a disciple of Jesus different than all other religions.
Religion says we must do things to be with God in heaven. We have to earn our way into the presence of a Holy God. But it is only through faith in Jesus that we can get into heaven. It was His sacrifice that paid the price for our sins, and it is only by accepting that forgiveness that we can reach heaven. And even the faith that we receive to accept Jesus comes from God. And that faith will bring about the “doing” James mentions above.
”We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.“
Isaiah 64:6
It is only Jesus working in and through us by the work of the Holy Spirit that makes us acceptable to God.
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
When we start to tear others down by our view of how we think it should be, we are only building ourselves up by tearing others down. This does not mean we will always agree with what others say or their exposition of scripture, but God will make it clear to those genuinely seeking His message.
So where does this leave us when we encounter those we feel are sideways with scripture?
”The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.“ 2 Timothy 2:24-26
And what do we do when we find ourselves at a point where we don’t agree?
”Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; however, let’s keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.“ Philippians 3:15-16
When I find myself at a point of contention with someone, I will ask myself, what if I am wrong? And I ask God to make it clear to me.
Heavenly Father, It is Your Word. You have given us Your Word to guide our lives. You have given us Your Word to help us come to know the saving grace that You have provided through the life and death of Jesus. Thank You.
I pray, Lord, that You give us a heart of compassion and patience. I pray that You allow us to see that Your Word is advancing exactly as You have planned. I pray that You give us the patience to allow others to grow at the pace that You have set for them.
I pray that You allow us to give others the space necessary to learn Your Word in Your timing.
Let us be an encouragement to those around us, instead of the critical spirit that we find out in the world.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!!
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