James 1:19.
“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
Most of us live this verse backwards. We’re quick to react, quick to talk, and listening is whatever’s left over once we’ve already made up our minds.
James puts hearing first for a reason. It’s the foundation everything else stands on. Notice too how he places slow to speak right next to slow to wrath. This is because our words and our anger are tangled up together. So much of the damage we do with our mouths comes from skipping the listening and rushing straight to being offended. Real wisdom starts with closed lips and open ears, not the other way around.
Prayer: Lord, help me listen before I speak. Help me be slow to speak and be very, very slow to get angry.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.