Daily Devotionals
Devotional: 23rd of Tammuz
Let every person be quick to listen but slow to speak, slow to get angry (James 1:19).
Reden iz gut, shvaigen noch besser is Yiddish for "Speech is good, silence is even better." In the above Scripture, the Greek word for angry, orgay, means "anger with the connotation of vengeance."
How many times we wish to punish others with our words and thoughts! The Scripture warns us to be "quick to listen." In the context of chapter 1 and chapter 3, where arguments of a violent nature are spoken against, this warning extends to avoiding the judgments we make by not abiding in "God's Word" (James 1:18).
The Scripture tells us to be "slow to speak," especially regarding judgments when we are not fully aware of the truth of a matter.
Let us heed Ya'akov's (James's) warning and remember, "The tongue has power over life and death; those who indulge it must eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21).
...guard my tongue from quick responses and judgments that do not conform to the Word of truth.
JR
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