“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:19-21 NASB1995)
In context, both before this and following this, this is in
reference to the Word of God (the Word of Truth). We should be quick to listen
to what the Scriptures teach us, in the appropriate context, and we should be
slow to forming our own opinions of the matter, especially in anger, for that
does not achieve the righteousness of God. For not all of us were taught the
truth when we were growing up, or else we were taught partial truths and
partial lies, because what we were being taught was being taught out of
context.
So, we have to be very careful to make certain that what we
were taught, and what we came to believe, is the truth of what the Scriptures
actually teach, if taught in their appropriate context. In other words, we
should be students of the Scriptures who study them in the appropriate context,
and who are seekers of truth and righteousness, who want to know the truth, and
who refuse to believe the lies which were handed down to us from generation to
generation. We should want to know and follow the truth.
Now, this applies in our conversations with other people,
too, especially on personal blogs or Christian discussion sites where we are
having interactive discussions with other people on biblical topics. We should
be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger. But that does not mean
that we have to engage with profanity, hateful and spiteful remarks and false
accusations, and that which is inflammatory against God or against the
Scriptures, etc. We do not have to listen to such hateful, mean, and cruel
rhetoric.
But just because we might disagree with what someone else is
saying, it does not give us the right to be nasty and hateful and cruel in our
responses. We can learn to disagree respectfully, and with kindness, and to
speak the truth of God’s word, in love, one to the other, without lowering
ourselves to name calling, or to false accusations against another. It is
possible for us to have kind, thoughtful, and reasonable discussions with others
without it turning into hate, spite, and to name calling.
“For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
We the people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to be
putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, and in humility
we are to be those who are receptive to the word of God implanted in our hearts
through biblical faith in Jesus Christ. And we are to be those who want to hear
the truth of God’s word, and who obey his word, in practice, by the grace of
God, in the power of God. We must be seekers of truth and righteousness who
obey God’s word, in practice, which is for the salvation of our souls.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh,
to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This
is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly
I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus,
Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh,
to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving,
forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping
the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking
the wandering sinner to find.
O
to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy
and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly
enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing
to suffer others to save.
O
to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour
out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make
me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit
me for life and Heaven above.
Oh,
to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd
Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come
in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp
Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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Slow to Anger
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