On Deaf Ears

There's a whole lotta anger goin' on.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. - James 1:19-20

When I read James, I wonder if his letters went on deaf ears in his time as they might in this time.

When we are filled with anger, it is hard to hear what others are saying.  We tune them out and focus instead on the source of our anger.

I wonder, as I read what James had to say, whether the listener heard the advice James gave as pertaining to them.

Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

Did they believe they harbored wickedness within them?  Or did they displace that sordid behavior onto those they hated, those who had angered them?

If we hear the message as being aimed at someone else, we may find ourselves more angry rather than less.

That is the problem with the messages from our religious leaders in the days after one of the most contentious Presidential elections in my lifetime, if not ever.  They are being delivered with the same potential for misdirection, leading us to harbor greater anxiety and more focused anger than before.

Amid the rioting and shouting, there are few capable of listening, and the messages just wash over the airwaves like rain.

We have gotten very good at inciting people to action out of anger and hatred, so vile at times that people are hurt or killed.

We should have learned from our history that once the mob is formed, all justice is tossed out the window and someone's rights are denied.

We are headed that way as a country, and only a true desire for God's righteousness, not our own, will save us.

Of course, that message will fall on deaf ears as well.

I pray it doesn't.

More to come...