👂 James 1:19-20 | "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger"

together with

Happy Monday, {{first_name | everyone}}!

Have you ever responded quickly to a friend or family member in anger…only to regret it later? I certainly never have but I hear others struggle with this…kidding.

This week’s verse will help us grow in Christlikeness when it comes to anger. It’s going to be a great week!

In today’s email…

✉ subscribe here | support our work 👐

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.

James 1:19-20

As best as we can tell, the man who wrote this letter grew up with Jesus.

James was his brother (Mark 6:3) and for years, he didn't believe a word of it.

Then he met the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7), and he went from a brother to a follower.

And by the time he writes this letter, James is leading the church in Jerusalem. His audience is made up of primarily Jewish believers scattered across the Roman empire experiencing trials, poverty, and friction with each other.

So he writes a practical letter about what faith looks like on an ordinary Tuesday: how you treat the poor, what you do with your money, what comes out of your mouth and how you conduct yourself.

This week's verse comes right after a line about new birth, and provides a vision for how we are to conduct ourselves as Jesus followers.

The sense of verse 18 is that God gave us life through the word of truth (the gospel) and that through it, we were born again (the firstfruits of the new creation).

And as people who have experienced new birth…

What we’re memorizing this week is one of those everyday instructions that we all know, but that many of us fail to live out by lunchtime (myself included).

Then James continues with the why behind the what:

So over the next few days, we're going to slow down, learn to listen first, and become slower to anger by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us.

📖 Read: Spend time this morning reading James chapter 1.

👂 Listen: Before you study the verse this week, let’s focus on the order of operations. Listen first. This applies to our relationship with those around us, and with God.

Pick one moment in your day: the first minute in the car, the walk to the kitchen, the pause before you open your laptop. Use it to stop talking and listen. Ask God to speak before you ask him for anything.

🙏 Pray

Father, you gave me new life through your Word, and I have been slow to listen to it. This week, make me quick to hear you. Quiet the part of me that always has an answer ready. Teach me to sit with what you say before I speak, so that my words and even my anger start to look more like yours. Amen.

Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week!

Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week in the ESV or KJV!

It looks like you don’t currently pay-it-forward. If you’d like to, you can do that here.

Word of God Speak by MercyMe is about running out of your own words and getting quiet enough to finally hear God's. Enjoy this song this week!

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music | Full Malachi Daily Playlist

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.

James 1:19-20