“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
With those words, James 1:19-20 transitions from the blessings of the New Birth which enable us to endure and profit from our trials (James 1:2-18) to how our own inner character must impact those around us, especially the disadvantaged (James 1:21-27).
James is explaining that our spiritual life is a shared life, just as Jesus (Matthew 18) emphasized caring for our brothers and sisters in the faith. My question is what that might look like if we were to listen to our brothers and sisters of another race or ethnic minority.
In context, James is saying that we should listen to God’s Word. But that will mean, must mean, hearing from others in order to minister to them, even when it is awkward to do so. The first thing the doctor asks is, “Where does it hurt?” That’s what we should be asking, too.
Racial tensions bubble to the surface and explode, fueled by political rhetoric, accusation, and generalization. Violence leads to violence in a Hatfields and McCoys national feud while all the while we huddle with our own inner circles, maybe never asking what it’s like to be “them.”
Christians need not join the politics fueling the racial divide. Today, “racism” may be the most abused word in the language. But for now let’s not quibble over what to call it. Instead, following James, let’s be slow to speak, slow to anger, and, with open hearts, just listen.
What would happen if everyone asked a “different” friend what it’s like to be different. Do you even have such a friend to ask? If you don’t, please make such a friend, and by all means, ask. And then, without judging or interrupting, just listen. It will do both of you good.
“From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them, and the exact places where they should live.” Acts 17:26