A LOOK AT JAMES

 James 1:19-27 New Living Translation

            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 does not produce the righteousness 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.

[ Note: Over the next several days I will break down these 9 verses                                                                                       from the Epistle of James. I will write regarding the 3 verses highlighted in yellow today. ]

            To start with let me define the term Epistle, for the official title of this book is The Epistle of James. An Epistle is a letterthat is formal in nature. All the books of the New Testament from Romans to Jude were letters either to a specific person known by the author or to a body of believers who were initially visited by him. The author was probably the one who planted the church to begin with. The nature of the letters depended on what news had gotten back to the writer regarding the well being of the congregation. In the case of James letter, its purpose was to expose hypocritical practices among the brethren and make sure his readers knew how to live properly as a follower of Christ.

            James addresses the thought that anger serves no godly purpose. Rather than blowing our top about something we can do nothing about, we need to listen intently and keep our mouths closed.  It is much easier to avoid a public display of anger for the world to see if we start by listening rather than speaking. We must also ask for God’s help to purge from us the filthy thoughts and foul language we use when our guard is down and our old carnal nature is allowed to rear its ugly head. Such things have no place in the life of a believer in Christ. Know that the devil doesn’t play fair and will always aim for your weak spot. He is a defeated foe who has no hold on us unless we give him a foothold. He will drag you down to a place you do not want to go in you aren’t careful. Stay well fed on God’s word.         

            Reading God’s word is an active endeavor. It’s not just listening yet never hearing; we are expected by God to actually do what it says. Why else would it exist but to guide and instruct his followers? To read the word of God and NOT do what it says is like looking in a mirror at your own reflection and when turning away, forget what you look like. That’s quite an indictment. Remember that we are never learning anything new when we are speaking, only when we are listening. Over time we will understand the significance of seeing our faith not as religion, but a personal relationship, for God treats us like a son and not a stranger. God desires the best for us and will take us there if we allow him to. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible; The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

NOTE: This look at James is not meant to be an exhaustive study of the text, but a brief look at certain key verses to understand their basic meaning.