Monday the 21st

James 1: 19-20

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

I can look back over my life and see that I have never made a good decision when I was angry. Not one, not even close. Typically when I am angry I am thinking about one thing and one thing only……me. It is like that for most people. When we allow ourselves to become angry we are no longer acting, we are reacting, the first response is to fire off the first thing that comes to our mind…….which usually has slipped my the filter in our head….we end up destroying relationships, hurting people, and inflicting pain, all because we have allowed ourselves to become angry. Make no mistake about it, we do allow it, we make the choice, we might not want to admit it, but we do allow it. We let it in, we let that emotion start off as a small little barb, then we help it fester into a burning flame. Once we let that flame get hot enough we let it out, and it burns everyone around us. This is why we should be quick to listen. Really if someone says something that makes you feel the pangs of anger, it is either a false statement, it is the truth and it hurts, or it is something you have no control over. If it is false, why allow that person to hurt you twice? Compose yourself, and your thoughts (slow to speak) then set the record straight, no one listens to a fool shouting their head off, however the person who keeps a level head during difficultly, will be known as someone to listen to, and a liar will always be exposed for what they are. If it is the truth…..well you can’t kill the messenger for delivering the message, own it, and fix it. We all have things in our lives we need to work on, when it is pointed out, there is no need to get upset that you have been called on it. You should recognize that whatever it is…..others are noticing, so you might want to get to work on that! The hardest thing for me was the things we have no control over. I would get so upset, and it was largely due to a feeling of helplessness, I hope you can see where I am going with this one…..we really are not in control of much, place your faith in the Lord, and take things as they come, if you can’t do anything about a situation then wait, if the Lord needs you to help work on it, he will put you in the right place at the right time, until then, listen, watch, but don’t lose your cool over something that you cannot control , trust that God has a plan and whatever happens it will be used for the good in the end. So, be quick to listen…..if you jump to speak, if you blow your top, then how will you hear the voice of the Lord directing you. He usually will not shout over you, HE will wait for you to “play out” and by that time…..well you might have already missed your opportunity to make a difference!

May God bless and keep you,

Brian