19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
(Jas 1:19-20)
We could all use a deeper appreciation for and application of this passage. It is a common thing to assume we are right, that we have a given situation completely sized-up, and to become angry when another person does not see it our way. It is almost like a runaway train. A disagreement or someone pushing back on our closely-held belief (or even not-so-closely held!) sets the train in motion and nothing stops it until we have sinned in anger.
We would be wise to notice that there are two imperatives in these verses: “Know” and “be”. Know this…let every person be quick to hear… “Be” will always get most of the press, but “know” is crucial. We’re being commanded to know something. Know what?
Perhaps we’re commanded to know the inverse relationship between the anger of man and the righteousness of God, and therefore, be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger…
If this is the case, we should consider v20 before trying to obey the imperatives of v19. Anger does not produce—or literally, work—the righteousness of God. As believers, we are intended to be walking displays of the character of God (Eph 5:1). The marquee description of the character of God has to be that found in Exodus 34:6 and elsewhere—He is a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…
Of all the things that God wants man to know about Himself, that He is slow to anger is toward the top of the list.
Paul teaches in Ephesians 1-3, that a major means by which God brings Himself glory is by transforming us into the image of Christ. We should care deeply then about displaying the righteousness of God in our character and conduct. Because His slowness to anger is such a focal facet of His character, we should strive to accurately image Him. To go back to the train analogy, we could think of this as our intended destination—to display the righteousness of God.
Anger is where the train gets off the tracks. It diverts us from displaying God’s righteousness. Anger leads to all manners of ungodliness. Paul gives a few examples in Ephesians 4:31—bitterness, wrath (outbursts of anger), anger (a settled disposition of ungodly anger), clamor (loud quarreling), and slander. These things do not glorify our sanctifying God, but dishonor Him. Thus, the imperative to know this danger and act accordingly.
How do we act in accordance with that knowledge? How do we keep the train on the tracks? James gives three prescriptions:
First, be quick to hear. Proverbs 18:13 reads, If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. This is more than just letting the other person speak first. By “hear,” both James and Solomon mean understand. Be quick to get all the facts and then ask follow-up questions to make sure we understand. “Hearing” acknowledges that a slavish pre-commitment to our own narrative rather than the whole truth is a major contributing factor to the train jumping the tracks and heading toward anger instead of righteousness. If we would image His righteousness, our first impulse must be to understand the other person.
Second, be slow to speak. James must have more in mind than simply, “don’t be the first to talk.” That idea could have been implied by “be quick to hear.” He more likely has in mind, “don’t be quick to formulate a response.” Our culture prizes the quick wit, the person who thinks quickly on his or her feet. Likewise, the sinful, defensive heart prizes a quick defense or deflection of an argument or counter-argument. In our pride, winning is more important than arriving at the truth. We would rather hold our ground than give the other side a victory.
Being slow to speak is another crucial safeguard to keep the train from jumping the tracks. Having listened and understood the other side, we should think about what we’ve heard before speaking. “Is pride coloring how I see this situation? How does what I’ve just heard contribute to a clearer, truer picture?”
Being slow to speak may mean taking a few moments before responding. It may mean asking the other person for a few hours or days to consider what has been said. It certainly means a commitment to keeping the train on the tracks toward His righteousness.
Third, be slow to anger. The first two prescriptions will help, but James must have in mind the necessity to make a conscious effort against anger. Otherwise, being quick to hear and slow to speak would have been the only instructions necessary. In other words, by the grace of God, we must also intentionally hit the brakes on anger, slow things down, and consider what could happen if we don’t exercise self-control.
One of the greatest ways to cultivate self-control or patience in situations that would typically provoke anger is to grow in love for this facet of Christ’s character. Jesus clearly loved righteousness (Matt 3:15; 5:6; 6:33) and loved glorifying God (John 17:4). He responded with great patience and love when questioned, confronted, dishonored, and abused (Matt 11:1-11; Mark 2:1-28; Luke 22:63-71). Jesus showed Himself to be the slow-to-anger God of Exodus 34:6 (Num 14:18; Psa 86:15). We should give great attention to beholding His glory that we might be transformed by it (2 Cor 3:18), praying that in moments of temptation to anger a growing affection for Jesus would overwhelm our ungodly passions and grant us to be patient.
What a wonderful thing if we were to be set apart from the world in just the way James describes here…not only that we would be slow to anger, but that through it, we would display the righteousness of God.
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