Call to Commitment

One-room schoolhouse

                           Chapter 1:19-27

 

Swift to hear… with meekness

      19.  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man  be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;    

     20.  for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

    21.  Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

When I was in first and second grade, I went to a one-room schoolhouse, for first through eighth grades. The students were called, a grade at a time, to sit at a table with the teacher in the front of the room. I used to listen attentively, as the teacher gave the higher grades their lessons and was able to glean a good deal from them. In biblical studies, we soon learn that the Bible offers insights into the spiritual world that go far beyond what one person can learn in a lifetime. We need to listen to others.

 John Wesley outlines the rest of the book by verse 19: “Let every man be swift to hear – This is treated from James 1:21 to the end of the next chapter. Slow to speak – Which is treated in the third chapter. Slow to wrath – Neither murmuring at God, nor angry at his neighbor. This is treated in the third, and throughout the fourth and fifth chapters.”

 In verse five, James counseled the Christian to pray for wisdom and in verse 19, he is adding to this advice, showing us that prayer should be coupled with a desire to listen. In conversation, we learn as others share what they have learned and, of course, through preachers and teachers, our knowledge of the Word grows. Reading is a form of listening and blessed is the Christian, who is a good reader. We must be ready and anxious to hear.