We are told in James 1:19, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” I don’t know about the rest of you? But I have to say this is one area in my life that I struggle at. My mouth wants to run a whole lot faster than I listen. I remember distinctly when I was a kid, particularly after getting my backside busted, dad would look at me and say, “You wouldn’t get near the whippings you receive, if you would just learn to shut your mouth!” and I would still be sitting there going, “but! But! But!” Dad would respond, “See right there, just shut up! Just be quite!” We all feel the need to be heard, we all feel that our thoughts and opinions are valid and many have a bad habit of having the “my way or the highway” mentality. One serious problem we have in congress now and one reason why nothing gets resolved, the “my way or the highway” tactic doesn’t work and some compromise is needed, however, I digress. We need to all learn to listen twice as much as we speak, try putting ourselves in the other person’s position and try to understand their point of view, we don’t have to be right all the time. With that said, we cannot under any circumstances compromise on the Word of God, ever! We can still speak the truth in love, keep in mind that you can’t force people to believe, you can’t save anyone, all we can do as Christians is to tell others about Jesus and then it is up to the individual to accept or reject. We are saved when the Holy Spirit touches our hearts and opens our eyes. Trust me, I know from personal experience how hard it is talking to people on controversial topics who refuse to listen and it is easy to get heated when they resort to name calling and circular reasoning. We cannot allow ourselves to play their game, listen to their point of view, lovingly as you can point out their error, show them what the Bible says on the subject and when they get heated and/or refuse to listen, politely excuse yourself from the conversation and go on. You have done your part, you have planted the seed and so they will have to make a choice from there on out. You don’t have to feel you have won the argument, just plant the seed, pray for them and allow the Lord to work from there. It takes the power of the resurrected Christ within us to control the tongue, and that power is available only to those who turn their lives over to Him (Romans 8:10-14). As with so many things in life, “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). There is only One who can control the tongue. Only by God’s Spirit living within us can we hope to gain control over our tongues. He convicts us when we sin with our lips and that conviction drives us to repent and pray for more filling of the Spirit so we can avoid further sin. As we cling to Him and yield to Him in obedience, He controls us more and more, including our tongues. So work hard to listen more than you speak and when you feel the urge to allow that tongue to get out of control, walk away, pray about it and before you do something rash, give yourself at least twenty four hours before you react and/or respond to a situation.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:20:51 +0000
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