“Know this, my beloved brethren: let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Js. 1:19-20).

Maybe you enjoy watching people yell at and over each other on Fox News and MSNBC. I don’t enjoy the yelling matches. It seems silly to me for grown people to behave that way in private or in public. What happened to dignity? What happened to maturity? The beauty of being slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to hear is poignant in our age of quick speaking, a little listening, and rapid-fire spurts of anger. We are triggered and woke but rarely hear what is really happening around us.

            Wouldn’t it be great to listen to what others are saying? Try this. The next time you hear someone expressing their feelings or an argument: Take a 5-10 seconds to ponder what has been said, and kindly respond in an understanding way with wisdom from God’s book which has been distilled in our hearts. The other person, or the other group, will at least know they have been heard and that you genuinely care about their feelings and that God has something to say about the topic.

            Here is my challenge for you today and tomorrow—1) listen to what people are saying and 2) respond with what God would have you to say 3) in the way God would have you to say it. I believe this will help us all to be more Godly and feel better about ourselves and feel better about other people. I believe this will help our society go forward rather than implode. I believe this will help us to be truly evangelistic.

D. L. D.