James 1:19-20 ESV    Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Okay, I’ll admit it (reluctantly). I’m getting old. One sign of old age is the fading of our physical senses, particularly the hearing. I prepared a speech in High School, which I delivered on several occasions, on the subject of Noise Pollution. Even then, there were ominous signs that more contributes to this than just old age. Our generation has been a noisy one! But I believe that James speaks of more than physical hearing.

Communication requires at least two things to be successful and these are more difficult than we imagine. Someone must speak with clarity and another must listen with understanding. If I say what I think I mean but, because of assumptions and distortions, I fail to communicate it in a way you can understand, I will fail to communicate. If you hear what you think I said, but because of assumptions and distortions, you fail to understand what I meant, I fail to communicate. Whether the problem lies with what I said, the way I said it, what you heard or the way you heard it, a communication break-down is not just possible, it is probable. Communication is definitely a continuing problem we face every single day.

Of course, the above is a simplification of the problem. Actually, for those who study communication the whole process is even more complicated than that, involving environment, noise, motives, emotions, self-awareness, desire, words, definitions, values, and other contributing factors surrounding the senario. Whether at church, at work, or at home, communication is clearly a major part of most problems we face.

When it comes to communication on a spiritual level, the situation becomes even more complicated. We have an enemy, the spiritual forces marshaled against us by Satan and his demons, who seek to destroy any spiritual understanding or response to the Word of God. We have an Adamic nature that tends to be resistant to the work of God. We have worldly influences that seek to pull us away from spiritual commitment. THE WORLD, THE FLESH, and THE DEVIL are the enemies of spiritual life.

QUICK TO HEAR. Listening especially requires willingness to hear. When I was a child, if I heard my mom tell me something I didn’t want to hear, I simply pretended that I didn’t hear her. When it comes to the Word of God, if I hear something I don’t want to hear, I want to pretend that God didn’t say it, that maybe He said it but didn’t mean it, or that He said it and He meant it, but that still doesn’t mean I have to obey. But it doesn’t work that way.

SLOW TO SPEAK. James will talk about the importance of guarding our speech, as does the rest of Scripture. Here he simply encourages caution. Words are powerful, influential, weighty. They are much more powerful to build up or destroy than we want to admit. Considering that a person speaks between 10,000 and 20,000 words per day on average, depending on the research study consulted, and considering the influence that those words have, we must carefully choose what we say.

SLOW TO ANGER. One emotion that causes the most damage is anger. There is no sin in having strong feelings about an issue. But we cannot seem to control those feelings. We must berate, badger and vilify. We have a tendency to believe that we can beat our opinion into the mind of another person, if we just continue to pound it loudly and emotionally long enough. It’s easy to understand why James tells us that anger “does not produce the righteousness of God.” We cannot be right or do right when we are out of control. In anger, we “lose it.” We end up doing things we don’t want (such as throwing one’s fist through a wall, but I wouldn’t know anything about that), saying things we don’t mean (“I hate you, mom!”), and fueling thoughts that create a false view of people, situations, and circumstances (these people hate me, no one cares, this is the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world).

The key to spiritual progress is a willingness to do three things. Listen to God and follow His directions. Think before you speak. Is it wholesome, truthful, and helpful? And fight back against anger. You think you can control it, but it ends up controlling you. Don’t despair. You have help. The Spirit of God will help you understand and obey God’s Word. He will guide you in communicating with others. He will help you control your anger. You need only call on Him and allow Him to help you.