Have you ever been around someone who just cannot stop talking? It can be difficult to think and speak during those situations. It is easy to talk about what is on our minds and share our thoughts. While there is obviously nothing wrong with talking, listening is also critical in any relationship. Listening is often more difficult than talking. It takes patience and focus to listen instead of talk. While not always easy, listening is a key component of building intentional relationships where we point those around us to Christ.
James warns us to be people who listen well in James 1. In this chapter, He wrote, "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" (verse 19). This instruction is the opposite of how most people behave today. You see, most people today are slow to listen and quick to speak, often becoming angry. Christ followers are to live differently, however. We are to be quick to listen. Let's think for a moment about the benefits of being quick to listen. When we listen, we can understand people better. We can know what their fears and struggles are. We can better reach them and point them to Christ when we understand their desires, fears, and struggles. Being quick to listen requires us to be slow to speak. Instead of dominating conversations by sharing only what's on our minds without listening, we need to speak less and listen more. As we set out to listen well, we earn the trust of those around us.
The reminder from James to listen quickly and speak slowly is critical for us to consider as we reach out to those who are lost. People will trust us less if they feel like we only want to talk and will not listen to them. As we build intentional relationships with people who do not know Christ, let's commit to listening well. Let's learn about what is going on in their lives and their struggles. As we hear their worries and concerns, we can point them to the hope that Christ offers.
Memorize James 1:19. Bring this verse to mind often, particularly as you are building intentional relationships with those who do not know Christ. Commit to listening to what is going on in their lives and what matters to them. As you listen to their cares and concerns, doors will open to have deeper conversations about Christ and eternity.
1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
