Be slow to anger

"Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God." -- James 1:19-20

I suppose there has always been a certain tension between the guiding ideal of keeping your cool, as against that of showing passion and enthusiasm for the things you believe in. As I listen to such music programs as "The Voice," it seems that showing passion -- strong emotion -- is seen as crucial to the success of singers. I can appreciate strength of feeling in a song, especially if the lyrics express a sensible message and the song tries to give the fullest possible effect to the sense of the song. However, I confess to being turned off when a song's lyrics are vacuous, lacking in sense, too repetitive -- even if the singer is all worked up about whatever it is about. I have heard quite a few songs, especially of the loud and shrill variety, in which the singer seems to be really, really angry, but I can hardly tell by listening to the music what the song is about and what the singer is so wrought up about.

When we move over from the entertainment world and into areas of human relationships and dealing with people with frustrations and resentments, the issues raised by Scripture in James 1 lift up some crucial truths and needs. In this piece, I just want to reflect on several of the principles James raised as he describes an approach to life which is disciplined and shaped by the spirit of Jesus Christ.

First, James calls for being quick to hear. Hearing well is considerably harder than talking. Hearing well is more than the acuity of one's ears to pick up sounds. Hearing well involves giving attention to another person, respecting the other enough to acknowledge and understand what the person is sharing. Hearing and seeking understanding is a part of loving one's neighbor as oneself.

Secondly, James calls for being slow to speak. This point I take to be hard for many of us. Most of the time, as others are speaking, we are thinking about what we want to say next and how we can wedge our next words into the conversation. So we may not be really listening; we are thinking more about how to have our say. As is pointed out in a well-known passage in the book of Ecclesiastes, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. James echos that thought here. There is a time to speak, but let us not be so anxious to talk that we neglect to really hear and empathize with the person who shares thoughts and feelings with us.

Then James follows with the admonition, "Be slow to anger." The entire 20th verse is devoted to backing up that word.

"For the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God."

Let us acknowledge that there is a time to be passionate in presenting and defending a truth, and there is even a time for righteous indignation. But James makes the point that too often our anger does not square with the will and spirit of God, will not accomplish the things God would wish to accomplish, and is quite likely to be destructive, not constructive. There is a time to keep your cool in order to guard against unjust reactions to others and to protect clear thinking about the situation at hand. To pop off without thinking will often turn out badly. Emotional reactions without caution and consideration can cause more harm than good. To rashly "let off steam" will often scald the feelings of others and deepen misunderstandings. Letting off steam may not really ease one's pent-up emotional stress and is likely to make things worse rather than better.

Anger, as James speaks of it, clouds rational judgment, interfering with clear thinking. Anger interferes with good, honest listening -- James's first point. Anger interferes with perceiving the intents and motives of people with whom we have to do. Anger very often leads to unjust blaming. Undisciplined anger often foments violence and stirs up mob behavior. Anger weakens a person's normal restraints of reason and caution. Anger leads people to jump to unwarranted conclusions and to broadly broadcast blame without due discernment.

For example, today's stalemated national legislative bodies not only frustrate people but often lead to overly broad blaming and mass condemnation of everybody involved. Obviously in saying this I am indicating that I see overly broad blaming as unjust and unwarranted and very harmful to our country's well being. Not all our politicians are corrupt and crooked.

Finally, anger has a way of blinding people to their own faults while causing them to maximize their measure of the faults of others. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:3) said, "Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye but do not see the log that is in your own eye?"

One of our great presidents once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" Anger, especially when combined with fear, is very debilitating to us as a people.

Our problems today are unlikely to be remedied by either anger or fear.

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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.