Slow to speak
“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.” (NIV) James 1:19-20
John Wayne, affectionately known by his friends as “The Duke” was a famous actor & film icon. He was considered “All American.” He is credited with saying the following statement, “Talk low, talk slow, & don’t say too much.” This is great advice unless we are fast talkers who speak loudly & don’t know when to stop talking before we say too much! The Bible has much to say about controlling our speech. In fact, controlling our tongue would go a long way in dealing with anger. In James 1:19, 20, we read, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” The wise man Solomon said, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1).
In Judges 8:1-3, we read, “And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb & Zeeb: And what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.” Gedeon gave a soft answer during a verbal conflict with some of his fellow men. They criticized Gedeon because they felt left out of the main part of the battle against the Midianites! Gedeon could have laid into them with harsh words, but instead, he reminded them that they did a greater deed than his. His humility & soft words avoided a huge scuffle that could have gone out of control! Instead, Gedeon complimented them on what they have accomplished in comparison to what he did! He defused what would have been a volatile situation. Sometimes in our dealing with our brethren, discretion is the greater part of valor! With the help of our Lord, we can also defuse heated situations simply by choosing our words very carefully & speaking softly & slowly. Christians shouldn’t be interested in winning a battle only to lose the war! We must learn to respond gently & carefully to angry people. This gives us greater opportunity to promote unity & thereby glorifying the name of our Lord!
Lord, set a guard upon my lips, My tongue control today; Help me evaluate each thought and watch each word I say. (Hess).
May we learn to bite our tongue before our tongue bites someone else! Remember, anger words cannot be undone! Once they leave the lips, the damage most likely is already done & feelings are hurt! May God grant us the wisdom to think before we speak!