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Slow Down
REFERENCE: James 1:19-20 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
Observation: If we start at the end we understand why it is good not to get angry; it doesn’t produce God’s kind of life anyway. We might think that what we have is righteous anger, that we have a good, moral reason to get mad. This is almost never the case. We usually get angry because someone has offended us. It’s personal, not righteous at all and it is destructive.
So how do we keep ourselves from this kind of anger? First of all, slow down. Slow down so that we can really listen. So often we are flying off the handle out of a reaction before we really even understand what is being said to us. We should ask questions. Often we will find that the person speaking to us did not mean to be offensive at all.
Secondly, slow down so that we can think about what we are about to say. It doesn’t work well to put a watch over our mouths if we don’t take the time to listen to the warning when it comes. We should think about how our words are going to be heard in the other’s ears and remember that they should build up and not tear down.
Thirdly, slow down so that we can control our building anger. If we feel anger coming on, get out of the situation. Go for a walk, do something else, schedule another time to talk about the conflict but don’t stay there and let it come.
James is really wise. If we will slow down and listen, slow down our mouths and slow down our reactions, then we will find out that anger is not able to control us.
Application/Confession: There are times, like yesterday, when I find myself getting frustrated with something my wife does. I don’t feel like I am acting in an angry way but I am not being gentle and it hurts her feelings. It is important that I slow down and think about how my reactions my effect her feelings.
PRAYER: Lord, you have asked me to be patient and gentle in the way I talk to my wife. Help me to be just that.
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