James 1:19-27 New Living Translation
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[a] does not produce the righteousness[b] God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
In verse 26, James tells his readers to use self-control when it comes to their speech. It’s imperative that you are consistent, not one-way in public and another way in private. We are expected to at the very least have a deep, abiding desire to be like Christ in this life. Saying you’re a Christian without living like one only causes confusion for those you meet.
Back in Jesus’ day widows and orphans were left to fend for themselves; therefore, it had become a vital ministry of the church. The Lord sees the believer giving without any hope of a return and is pleased, for that is what a follower of Christ is supposed to do. Forget throwing money at a problem. Put your heart and soul into ministering to those less fortunate, for this is what God expects from us. It’s called doing for others what you would have them do for you and is a hallmark of the Christian life.
So in looking over the entire portion of scripture again we find that anger and bitterness have no place in a Christian’s life. Hearing but never truly listening to God’s word and applying it directly to our lives are ‘worthless endeavors’ that benefit no one. We must refuse to allow the world to corrupt us by focusing on Christ daily. We’re not perfect and never will be, but as we strive toward perfection we will grow spiritually. The more time we spend on the things of God the stronger our faith will become. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.
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