| “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…” |
| —James 1:19 |
Have you ever played the game “Traffic Court” with your friends? It’s actually quite a simple game. One participant is designated as the “Judge” in Traffic Court. He or she very rapidly calls out directions to the other players, such as: “Five steps forward … Turn right … Four steps backwards … Turn left …”
Another participant is designated as the Traffic Cop. He or she watches how the others respond to the Judge’s instructions. If someone falters or doesn’t perform exactly as the Judge instructs, the Traffic Cop takes them out of the game for one minute. Three offenses and you’re out of the game entirely. The game is a lot of fun. It helps us understand how following directions can sometimes be difficult, especially if we don’t have enough time to process what we’re being told to do. In the matter of doing what we’re told, the Apostle James gave some very specific instructions in James 1:19. Here’s what he wrote:
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…
I’ve summarized these worthy commands in the three words that title this blog post: “Quick … Slow … Slow.”
We must always listen very carefully to each other. We must also always be very restrained whenever we speak. Instead of jumping into the conversation, we should consider carefully what we’re going to say and even whether we should speak at all. Then, and this is really important, we should be very, very slow to anger. Said another way: “Please! No thin skins among brothers and sisters in Christ!”
As we begin another day, it would be to our benefit to keep the Apostle James’ words in mind: quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. If we choose to live this way today, we will be so much better for having made that choice.
Based on a blog originally posted on Monday, August 27, 2018
