Quick to Hear

Quick to Hear. If every person took the time to ponder these verses and then put them into practice in their own lives we would live in an entirely different world.

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:19-21, ESV

Quick to Hear. If every person took the time to ponder these verses and then put them into practice in their own lives we would live in an entirely different world.

Quick to Hear - Among our Peers

Can you imagine our lives among our peers if we took the advice given in this verse? Let us be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Thinking that I did a pretty good job of following these verses, imagine my devastation when a supervisor of mine called me down for constantly interrupting. I would love to say that that ended my problem. However, I did start paying attention to my conversations and realized that I had a long way to go. And, I was not the only one with this problem.

If you find yourself constantly interrupting other people, that should be the first sign to you that you have a problem being quick to listen!

How about "slow to speak." Early in our marriage my husband taught me a very important principle. He is a person who does not like to respond immediately, but, rather, he likes to think about a subject for a day or two and then render an opinion. Wow! That took a lot of adjusting on my part; it took years to gradually work on doing the same thing myself. We have now been married almost 36 years, and I must say, things are pretty calm in our household. (God is so good!)

"Slow to anger." I am a red-head--enough said. Now I am in the early seventh decade of my life. The red hair has mostly disappeared and so has my propensity to quick anger. Am I the only one who faces difficulty in these areas? I smile as I think, "I doubt that."

Quick to Hear - Before God

While working on the principles taught in verse 19 may give us a much more peaceful life, I do not think that that was James' main intent. What is our relationship to God like? Are we "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" before God?

James goes on to say, "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

How can James make such a bold statement? Let us think about this.

"Quick to hear" before God. How do we hear God? I can think of several ways and perhaps you can as well. When we listen--really listen--to our Pastor on Sunday morning, we are listening to God! That does not mean that our Pastor is God, but it means that he is instructing us from the Word of God. When we read our Bibles and focus on what is being said, we are listening to God.

What about "slow to speak." How do we respond to the Word of God as we hear the instruction of our Pastor? Do we have "roast Pastor" for Sunday dinner or do we ponder the message he spoke and work to apply it to our lives?

When we read the Word of God, how do we respond? Do we find ourselves just reading as quickly as we can so we can get our daily passage read and get on with our lives, or do we thoughtfully read our Bibles, going over verses that seem to impact us and pray that God would help us to apply them to our lives?

Quick to Hear - The Result

Notice how verse 21 ends: "Which is able to save your souls."

What does that really mean? The Word of God gives us great knowledge about God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We understand from it that when Adam and Eve sinned, all mankind was plunged into darkness and sin. Satan thought he had won a great victory that day.

But, God had a plan. His righteous Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, took on the form of a man, taught and healed people in His earthly ministry, and died on the cross--taking all of our sins upon Himself. He paved the way for us to be able to come to God. When we ask the Lord Jesus to forgive us of our sins and come into our hearts, we are regenerated, or born again. Our old selves have been changed into new people who desire to love and please God. The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and teaches us. When we read our Bibles, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

What an amazing God we serve! Come to Him today, for He will save you now!

God Bless You,

Linda