James 1:19-21
In verse 19, James addresses all believers. Some translations just mention brothers but this is a case of using the term in its broadest sense. In this same verse he states “everyone” when speaking of how the behavior is supposed to look so to include “brothers and sisters” is consistent with James’ intention. What is it everyone needs to do?
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. When we read this we cannot help but think how backward our society, and the Church, is today. We tend to be slow to listen, quick to speak, and very quick to anger. Why is this?
James has already given us the answer: we are enticed by our desires. This teaching flows directly from what we looked at last week. Our desires, once conceived, lead to sin and ultimately to death. What is our greatest desire?
There are a lot of different answers but what they come down to is a desire to be right. To admit that we are wrong about something gives another person some measure of power over us. Above everything else, we must maintain the high ground – intellectually, morally, societally – and when we don’t, our instinct is to tell others what they did wrong and then get angry when they don’t acknowledge our superiority.
Our goal however should not be greatness for ourselves, but to bring glory to God. Our goal is ultimately to be a servant of Jesus. In order for that to happen we must ask God for wisdom (v5). The first step in gaining wisdom, according to James, is to be quick to listen.
When we listen, we might come to understand a side of things we did not think about. It is not possible to speak and listen at the same time. We can only do one of these tasks at a time. Our first instinct should be to listen – especially when it is God speaking.
The other benefit of slowness of speech is it contains the anger that is within us. Anger is a natural emotion but what we do with it shows who controls us – ourselves or Christ. When we allow our anger to manifest itself in speech the aim is to hurt someone. The aim is to make others look down upon that person and up to us, thereby proving that we are right.
This has the added consequence of riling people up to action. Anger moves people to do something about whatever it is that made them angry. Too often this leads to justification for any and all actions. We this on both sides of the political aisle as well as the Church aisle.
We try to justify it by saying we are standing up for God, defending God’s honor, or simply trying to bring our nation back to God. This is a false narrative we tell ourselves. God does need us to “stand up” for Him. He is capable of doing that Himself. Look at what James says of this belief.
Verse 20 is often ignored when quoting verse 19. James is extremely blunt here. “Human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” If our anger does not bring about God’s righteousness, why do we continue to get angry over everything?
We are not helping God accomplish Hhis will by being angry. We need to reject all Church leaders who try and teach violence as a way to promote the Kingdom of God. Likewise, we need to reject political leaders who try to use the name of Jesus to incite violence against their opponents. Anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
In verse 21 James comments that instead of anger we must rid ourselves of all moral filth and evil. The image here is of taking off a garment. These are things that are external to us and we need to get rid of them. At the very least these things need to be external to us.
What we need to do is humbly receive the implanted word. The KJV says “engrafted” word but this misses the point. Engrafted makes us think of John 15 where Jesus declares that He is the True Vine and we are grafted onto Him. The problem with seeing this view here is that James does not use that language. The word James uses here is only found here in all of the New Testament.
This word speak of something internal, and this deeply fixed within a person. This word that implanted is then expected to grow within us. Essentially, we are to be the vessel in which this word is to grow. Eventually it should grow so much we cannot contain it and it overflows.
This implanted word is the very thing that is able to save us. Our anger cannot save us. Our desires cannot save us. The only thing that is able to save us is the implanted word.