Do we have a problem?

Did you know that I've been getting beat up for the last several months?

It's True

I'm 36, 6'4, and just a shade over 200... (o.k.  maybe more than a shade) but I've been getting beat up by a guy who's a couple Millennia my elder

It's from a guy named James.... Actually, it's from his letter.

Some of you may know that I've been working through this letter as lessons for Youth Group, but I'll be honest, one of the reasons I felt led to doing a study on this letter this year wasn't just because I thought it would be good for the Youth... I thought it would be good for me to study it again, and honestly, I think it would be good for all of us to read and re-read it.  This is the first time I've actually posted on my study and what I've been finding/discovering, but I am sure it won't be my last.

anyways...

So, what is our problem you are wondering?  (If you've even made it this far)

We have a hearing problem.

We have gotten James 1:19 a little jumbled up... I think we are reading it wrong...

Let’s see if you can find the error

James 1:19a: "Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be slow to hear, and quick to speak ...."

Did you catch it?  (If not, feel free to read it again)

I don't think we realize it, but I think we have mixed up a couple words.

It should say “… let every person be quick to hear and slow to speak…”  

Are we living our daily life like a Presidential Debate?  (if you have never watched one, I encourage you to watch one for about ten minutes and you will understand what I'm saying) 

Are we speaking before we hear? 

Actually, let me rephrase that.

 Are we choosing to speak before we fully understand what we hear?

If we choose to speak before we understand what we have heard, we are choosing to speak on what we don't fully know or understand.  When we choose to speak on what we don't fully understand... well let's just say I've never seen a positive outcome as a result.

Just about everyone (not all, but most) I know identifies as Christian and to be a Christian means to be religious.  And James goes on to touch on that in verse 26 where he writes "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, deceives himself and this person's religion is worthless."

Man, that is a rough verse…

I wish I could say in my 15+ years of ministry that this issue of being able to speak slowly has been improving in the world and in the church, but unfortunately, it hasn't.  It's been getting worse.  We are starting to speak like the Presidential Debates and saying things for the sake of saying them.  We don't really care if we actually know the full truth or say the full truth, and we don't really care if what we say is hurtful, we just say them because we want everyone else to know what we think we know.  

I wish I could say I was innocent in this whole epidemic, but if I did, I'd be speaking a lie.  I've had it done to me and I know I've (regrettably) done it to others.  But the question is, what am I going to do about it?  It is one of my aims in life to make the Book of James central to how I live my life and I hope you will help me in that quest.  I promise to help you in that as well if you'd like me too.

But before I really go off on a soapbox... it is my hope that we can take the words of James 1: 19-20 to heart

May we fix our selective hearing problem.  Because if we don’t, we will jumble up the rest of the passage.  If we are slow to hear, and quick to speak, then we will also be quick to anger," and the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."  And in experience, it's not just one person who becomes angry, it's multiple people who become angry.  

Will you help me in my hearing and my speech?  I hope so

I'll help you to if you'd like me too.  It won't be easy... 

But God never said being his disciple would be easy... but he did say it was "the way"