2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
In the next segment of the first chapter of James, he speaks about hearing and doing. JAS 1: 19, “Remember this, my dear brothers! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.” When I thought about his statement, it occurred to me that James is still consistently dealing with this conflict that rages within us between our outer fleshly selves and our inner spiritual beings. Listening and exacting control over our childish emotions is learned behavior. It doesn’t come to us naturally. If we are gifted with a facile mind, what we must learn can even be more difficult for us. This is not a matter of intelligence; it’s a matter of giving oneself and the party communicating with us time to assimilate what has been said. Learning to listen can even be critical to saving one’s life. An example of this comes to mind from reading the messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. We find the comment, “If you have ears, then, listen…,” over and over again [REV 2: 7,11,17, 29; 3: 6,13, & 22]. In addition to that comes REV 3: 20, “Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with me.” Consider the consequences if we don’t take this advice.
I just got back from a trip in which Peter and I had to take an airplane. Something happened on that flight that definitely got my attention. We know that the FAA requires flight attendants to give a short presentation on how to buckle a seat belt, where the emergency exits are, and how to access both life vests and oxygen masks should they be needed at the beginning of every flight. That was done on our flights as usual, but I noticed that no one was listening. I have been on a flight which almost crashed when I was young. What would have happened had I not listened? What would have happened to these chatting passengers had there been an emergency on this flight? I may be accused of being a “goody two shoes” because I feel we should listen when this presentation is being given, but I would rather be one who is equipped to take decisive and appropriate action in an emergency.
The part of JAS 1: 19 which says we should be “slow to become angry” can also save a lot of heartache. The childish, fleshly part of ourselves wants to rear up in anger when we hear something we don’t like. But when we take time to think about what is being said, we give ourselves a better chance to react appropriately to the situation. It has been my experience that many times when I felt angry, it is because I didn’t understand what was being said. In other words, I needed to ask for clarification. A person can’t do that when he reacts in anger right away. The chance to do that is denied. What is also denied is the opportunity to inform the person making you angry of something he might not know that brought him to say what he did inappropriately. On the other hand, I am not saying never feel angry. There are times when expressing anger is very appropriate. From the counseling I have done, I know that anger repressed over long periods of time and not dealt with can cause all sorts of problems emotionally and physically. I remember one situation where I had to find a decisive and constructive way to deal with anger I felt. I was having some guests from the church I was attending in my home for a social and spiritual evening. One of them brought a man from out of town to share in it. As the evening progressed, this man told us how proud he was to be a follower of George Lincoln Rockwell, then leader of the Neo-Nazi party. As he spewed his venomous, anti-Semitic, hate-filled philosophy not knowing anything about my ethnic background, the anger welled up in me. I knew that yelling at him, which is what my fleshly self wanted to do would be lost on this individual. Instead, I invited him to come with me, quietly taking him by the arm to the front door. I asked him to step outside as if to see something out there. Once he was outside, I told him that he was not welcome in my home ever again and closed the door on him! Once back with the others, I told them exactly why I took this drastic step, and our evening went on without this intruder. The person he had come with never knew that this man was anti-Semitic or a member of such a hateful group until that evening.
JAS 1: 22 & 27, “Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to His word; instead, put it into practice…..What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.” No devotion on this subject would be complete without mentioning something that seems to be so obvious that we take it for granted in this country. However, it is a real issue. RO 12: 2 tells us, “Do not conform to the standards of this world, but to let God transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind. Then, you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and pleasing to Him.” The person driven by the flesh takes care only of number one. The Spirit tells us to extend that care outside of ourselves to others. The person who leads a totally selfish life never knows the immense joy that comes from serving others. In what Peter and I have been through during the eighteen months he searched for a job, we learned first-hand just how much it meant to us to be loved by our friends. Now, it is our turn to help others searching for work or who need us in other ways. That is what our Lord means by the term koinonea, that attitude of knowing that we belong to each other and God.
PRAYER: O Lord, through James You teach us that we must hear your messages to us and act on them. That is the only way we can allow You to polish our rough surfaces and perfect us in preparation for our glorification. When we don’t listen to You and we don’t act on Your commands, our lives are being wasted; others are not served by us. The process of sanctification is Your way of transforming us by the renewal of our minds, so that we can be functioning citizens of Your Kingdom. We thank You, Dear Father, for giving us the opportunity for salvation through the death of Your Son on the cross and for having the compassion to want to see us sanctified and glorified. You deserve to have us listening for Your commands and taking apostolic action when You lead us to do so. We dedicate ourselves to taking this sage advice. In Christ’s name, amen.
Be uplifted by the fact that our Lord loves us, even with our imperfections. He speaks to us through Scriptural writers like James to give us direction on what are Godly attitudes and actions. James explains these issues and gives us the opportunity to consider all their ramifications. Reflecting on them is in our best interests. God loves you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn