Listen Carefully (James 1:17-21)

There’s the old axiom that says that God has given us two ears and only one mouth so we should listen twice as much as we speak.

This axiom is actually upheld by the Scriptures.

For example, Proverbs 10:19: ““In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”” and

Ecclesiastes 5:7: ““For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.””

Proverbs 17:28: ““Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.””

Or as Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

Sounds like some of our politicians and media stars.

The short Epistle of James has few things to say about our what we should be saying … or in some cases, not saying.

Biblical scholars tell us that James was the half-brother of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.  

During the lifetime of Jesus he did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but was converted after he was a witness to the resurrection, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:7, where Paul, in talking about the witnesses to the resurrection says:

““ … and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.””

Josephus … the Jewish historian … tells us that James was martyred in 62 A.D. — he was throne off a the pinnacle of the Temple and then beaten to death.

The Epistle of James sets forth the crucial relationship between faith and works.

For example, in 1:22 we read: ““ But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.””

And in 2:26 we read: ““For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.””

We have seen on numerous occasions that while our works do not save us … our works are the evidence of our faith.

The familiar words of Ephesians 2:8-10 should come to mind; 

““For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.””

Our good works … are the evidence of our Christian walk … in other words how we live our lives in the world that God has placed us in.

A few verses later in Ephesians … Paul exhorts us … that as a result of what God has done in our lives through the Lord Jesus Christ … he says:

““I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called …””

Part of that worthy walk is in what we say and what we don’t say.

This is partly summarized in Epistle Lesson — ““So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;””

In the 3^rd chapter of this letter, James this truth is expanded and Paul tell us about the tongue … and all the damage it can do … where we read — 3:1-10 (READ).

Look again at what James says:

““Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.”” and 

““And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”” and

““But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.””

Is it any wonder that James says: ““So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;””

Years ago … the late comedian George Carlin … had a routine of the words that you can’t say on TV … which someone has expanded to 68 words … unfortunately … today … almost anything goes … you may hear an occasional “bleep” … but you still know what someone is saying.

In my teleprompting business … when I am working at a convention … all the different crews are connected by headsets … so we can talk to each other.

When announced … “crew to headsets” … then we put our headsets on … and respond something like … Frank here … or video here … sound here … etc.

On more than one occasion I have heard … “Frank is on … watch you language.”

Now … I recognized that the passage that is before does not only have reference to what are commonly called curse words … but what we say … and in come cases … what we don’t say.

The context of this letter is the growing persecution of the church and how the Christian should respond in the face of persecution.

Consider what James says earlier in chapter one … ““ Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.””

Part of enduring that temptation or persecution is NOT to respond in kind.

When someone says something negative or hurtful towards us … the natural reaction is to respond in kind.

I had a friend who used to say … I don’t get even … I get ahead!

BUT … think about the words of our Savior in the Sermon on the Mount:

““But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.””

On the cross our Savior prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do …”

And Stephen prayed while he was being stoned to death: ““Lord, do not charge them with this sin.””  

The Prophet Isaiah … predicting what would happen to Jesus in his “trial” before Pilate says:

““He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.””

And isn’t this exactly what happened as he stood before Pilate.

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One of the things that I was thankful for … is that during the last Presidential election I didn’t do any political work because the vitriol on both sides is increasing. 

In the past … when I had to work with certain candidates or during events with which I disagreed with … I would shake my head and often I started to pray for them … because I knew that only the Lord could change their hearts and minds.

The one thing that we must forget is that … as Christians … we are always on display.

The non-Christian looks at us … how we act … how we react … what we say … what we don’t say.

When people claim that they are Christians and use … shall we say … colorful language … it sometimes brings reproach on the name of Christ.

I can tell you that in the past … my words and actions have brought reproach to the name of Christ … and for that, I’ve had to confess my sin … and in words of James … 

““So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;””

Even as Christians … those who know Christ as Savior and Lord … we know that we don’t always act and react as we should.

The prophet Jeremiah tells us: ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?””

This is confirmed by our Savior … in Matthew 5:17-19 

““Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.””

And in Luke 6:45 Jesus says: 

““A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.””

Remember what James has told us: ““Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.””

So … what are we to do?  

Again … the Scriptures gives us specific instructions … as those who have been called by God … what we are to do.

In Ephesians 4:29 & 31 we read: ““Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers … Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.””

And in Colossians 3:8 we read: ““But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.””

We see a couple of principles here.

First … we are to be careful as to what we say … and how we say it.  We don’t have to be told what is filthy language … or corrupt language … those are the words that should not be in our vocabulary.

And connected with this … does what we say … how we act … build someone up or tear them down.

Again … as we read: ““Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification …””

As Paul continues in Ephesians 4:32: ““And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.””

We connect this with another exhortation by Paul in Colossians 4:6: ““Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.””

And so my friends … remembering that we are always on display … and the non-Christian world is looking at us … ““So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;”” … remembering that it is sometimes what we don’t say is more important than what we say.