James 1: 19-21

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

The things we do and say are influenced by that which we have in our hearts.  Our hearts are influenced by that which we hear and are exposed to.  In other words, “garbage in – garbage out.”  We must pay close attention to that which we expose our hearts and minds because it will inevitably show up in our mouths and on our hands.

HEAR FAST – RESPOND SLOW: Listening is a skill that is vital for every believer to develop.  Naturally, we need to be discerning about who or what we listen to, and we cannot believe everything that anybody says to us.  That is part of discernment.  However, we need to pay very close attention any time we hear or read the Word of God.  Scripture is the ultimate source of wisdom, and we must listen carefully.  Too often when others are speaking or even while listening to a sermon or reading the Bible, we allow our minds to wander.  Instead of listening, we are simply thinking about how we are going to respond.  Before we speak or demonstrate anger over what we hear, it is important to stop and think.  Angry or hasty words do not lead us down a path of righteousness.  Our first or natural response will likely be a sinful one.  Say a prayer before saying a word is a good way of exercising control of our tongues.   

PUT OFF DIRT – PUT ON SCRIPTURE: Sin clings to our hearts and minds in persistent and maddening ways.  We cannot be passive in our struggle with sin.  We are called to put it off and away from us.  Left alone our hearts will run into rampant wickedness and we will wallow in the muck and mire of sin.  The most effective weapon to combat the sin that sticks to us is the Word of God.  Of all the things we hear, Scripture is by far the most important.  We must humble ourselves before the Word of God and receive it as authoritative over our lives.  The Bible is like a seed that we must plant in our hearts and then carefully cultivate it so that it will sprout and produce the fruits of righteousness.  Only the Gospel is capable of saving us from sin.  If we truly want to be set free from the sin that clings to us, we must open our hearts and minds to God’s Word to replace the sinful desires that grow there naturally.

APPLICATION: Listen carefully to others especially when they are speaking from Scripture.  Carefully consider how we should respond to people who speak to us, especially when they are speaking from the Word of God. Beware of our sinful hearts and cultivate the Word of God to combat the wickedness that lurks there.