Rescue not Anger

 

Read James 1

James takes a couple of parallel tracks on suffering but both come with an endorsement of our suffering. Put a smile on your face, press on towards the goal, trust that God will use whatever suffering it is for good.  Trust him.

You will get more along those lines in the next service. For now, let’s look at some words that have become catchphrases.  Here’s one: Be doers of the word.

Be doers of the word.

Don’t just hear it, though good things start with the hearing of the word.

Don’t just memorize it, though good things come when the word of God is always on your heart as well as the tip of your tongue.

Don’t just be able to recite an address, though knowing where to find a specific scripture is often helpful.

Over all of these things, put your Master’s words into practice. Be doers of the word.

Be doers of the word. Faith compels action. There is more on that in the next chapter.

And one more catchphrase that we know in memory verse—and abbreviated verse form. Let’s go.

Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

 You know this one. A basic human need is to be understood. Some people insist on being right, but everyone has a need to be understood, even when people don’t agree with you.

So, listening before you speak, and listening with the intent to understand, meet a basic human need. Doesn’t that seem to fit in well with our God’s love in action motto?

Slow to speak is the natural concomitant of quick to listen. You don’t listen well if you are speaking concurrently. There is a group of people that thinks they can do both concurrently. You know the group, right?

They are called women.

But you can’t really talk and intently listen—the listening needed to meet a human need—at the same time.

Listen first and with the intent to understand. Put talking on hold for a while, and that includes formulating your response. For if you are thinking about what to say, then you are not listening to understand. Understand the other person. You may not agree with them. You may have a dozen suggestions for them. You may know exactly what they need to do, but just listen.

Sometimes meeting this need is greater than solving the problem that prompted the conversation.

Meet the need that can only be met by truly listening. First, meet the need of others, then have your say, but meet their need to be understood.

Finally, no matter how much it seems like the right thing to do, don’t get angry quickly. Take your time when it comes to anger.

But, but, but you don’t understand what they did or said or were about to say.

It doesn’t matter. Our anger will not bring about righteousness. How can it bring glory to God?

But God is not happy with that sort of behavior. He wants me to be angry with it.

No, his anger is sufficient if it is indeed needed. Our job is to bring people to a saving knowledge of God through Christ Jesus, not to be a part of God’s anger.

God’s anger can bring justice.

Our anger—however righteous it may seem in contemplation or in the emotional moment—only placates an emotional desire that wants to be satisfied.

But what they did or said or failed to do was totally disgusting.

That might just be the case, but our roles—our missions—are defined for us.

God judges and pours out his anger where he sees fit.

We rescue people about to be on the receiving end of God’s wrath for eternity.

We are on a rescue mission, not looking for an emotional high that comes initially with anger.

Human anger, even if it’s emulating righteous anger, can’t do anything to promote righteousness or bring glory to God. It is very much a placebo and the tool of the enemy.

Human anger brings about violence, hate, war, theft, bullying, murder, and a slew of other things that are anything but the righteousness of God.

So, for this brief soirée into James, remember:

·       Put his words into practice. Be a doer of the word.

·       Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

·       Human anger can’t get us to God’s righteousness.

Now, go rescue the lost.

Those who have wrath coming, that’s between them and God. We are not Wrath Plus. We are on rescue missions so that the wrath of God will not be poured out on many.

Our anger won’t rescue anyone!

Amen.