”So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:19-21
I feel as if I should be careful as I begin to write about St. James’ exhortation to be slow to speak. Perhaps I will fall victim to irony, yet may God have mercy on me and grant me a spirit of peace and deliberate response.
Many of us could probably stand to speak less. This goes without need for explanation. I’m sure most of us have had moments we wish we had not said what had just escaped from our lips the moment before. In general, however, it’s not difficult to see that we live in a world that talks too much. We live in a loud culture; a culture of noise. We live in a culture of talk shows We live in a culture where people talk over other people who are talking over still others. We live in a culture of soundbites and press statements. We live in a culture of 24-hour news, even when there is no news to report. We live in a culture of paparazzi. We live in a culture driven by entertainment and distraction. We live in the noise so long that true quiet becomes unsettling. Many of us find we need “white noise” to even sleep, and so we leave on our TVs or music or even a fan in the background. We have forgotten the treasure of silence, and have lost our spirit of peace.
I don’t think this is necessarily what St. James was addressing, but it comes into mind as I think of the struggles we have as human in letting our words be few.
This dilemma of noise and distraction even makes its way into our actions. Our lives become hectic and chaotic. We live in a fast-paced world that demands instant action from us. We fall behind in our schedules, rush about our day, lose the time to even eat with our families, and then are unable to sleep a full night before we have to be back up again, rushing about the world, guzzling our coffee or caffeine supply of choice. We rush about for that which is fleeting, chasing after the wind, and in the process of exhausting ourselves we miss the one needful thing of any importance. We strive to gain the world at the risk of our souls.
St. James tells to be swift to hear. When we listen to others we allow ourselves to learn from them and learn about them. We allow ourselves the opportunity to get to know them. We also learn something about ourselves when we listen. We are told to be slow to speak, and again, the advantages to this are quite obvious. We reduce the risk of hurting others or embarrassing ourselves. But James expands upon this teaching with words we may not expect: “let every man be … slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
What does wrath have to do with our big mouths? It shows us that there is more to do with our loose lips and loud lives than decibels and words. It is a matter of the heart, and in our rush we too easily miss it.
When I think of wrath here, I think of rash words and actions. I think of emotional flare-ups caused by offended egos. I think of the many knee-jerk reactions we often make under the pressures of worry and stress. Someone cuts us off in traffic, and before we realize it we have cursed them. We find out some bit of news, and before we know it we are buzzing with gossip. We are asked a question, and before we know it we have given more information than we intended. We encounter a moment of fear or temptation, and before we know it we have spoken lies. How often we speak before we’ve had an opportunity to think it over. And so our words and actions are led and guided by the passions, rather than the spirit.
It would do us much good to learn to become deliberate people. Our words should be intentional. Our “yes” needs to be “yes,” and our “no” needs to be “no.” We must learn to speak truth and to speak thoughtfully. If we do this we will naturally listen more, for how can you respond thoughtfully if you don’t understand what it is to which you are responding? We will naturally talk less, because there will be more time and thought invested in our words. Let us be intentional and purposeful beings, and let our intentions and purposes follow after Christ Jesus.
“Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved.” - St. Seraphim of Sarov
Tags: Peace, St. James, St. Seraphim of Sarov
