Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. - James 1:19-20
These are two short verses that say a whole lot. Let me offer some insight that might help us battle sinful, unrighteous anger.
The Assumption: There is an underlying assumption to what James is saying. What is the assumption? James assumes that the angry person is trying to accomplish something for which they determine that their anger will achieve.
The Deception: Based on the previous point it is important to realize that the sinfully angry person is deceived. How are they deceived. Good question. There are at least three ways a sinfully angry person is deceived.
First, the angry person is deceived in their thinking. They think they will accomplish the right goal. This is why James outlines the goal and that is the righteousness of God. In other words, the angry person is deceived into thinking they are accomplishing God's agenda when in fact they are not.
Second, the angry person is deceived into thinking their motives are good. Without even realizing it the sinfully angry person thinks they are up to good purposes when in fact they are merely self-motivated. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God's Word is "living and active...discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." In just a short little verse James masterfully diagnoses true human motives in sinful anger and exposes them for what they are: deceived and self-seeking.
Third, the angry person is deceived into thinking that they don't need God's help. This is connected to the first point but adding to it, unrighteous anger is the proud declaration of self-sufficiency. It is not only aiming at the wrong goal but it also asserts that it can achieve that goal with no help from anyone else, thank you very much. James tells us what true dependence upon God looks like: "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." When this is happening you can know that your goal is the same as God's.
The Solution: James begins this instruction in a very interesting way. He tells his people "know this." However, the next thing he rattles off is a command: "let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger..." Wait a minute, did he say to "know this" or to "do this" because this sounds like something we do, doesn't it?
The reason it is something to know is because James also offers the rationale for why we should be slow to anger, namely, it doesn't produce the right goal. In Jame's thinking, if we truly knew that and truly understood this dynamic it would be a key force in helping dissolve sinful anger.
Thus, going back to the mastery of what James wrote, we are invited to self-examination. Do we really want God's outcome? Do we really believe he can achieve it? Do we trust his timing and his ability to accomplish it? Do we trust that God's outcomes are best, even enough to kill our anger so that we can realize it?
Thus, when James calls us to "know this" he is calling us to a deep knowledge of God himself. The only way to fight against sinful anger is to know God and love God. In other words, the solution for anger is actually deeply personal. James is essentially saying, if you really knew God and trusted his heart and his power you wouldn't get angry. If this is true we can begin seeing our sinful anger as an evidence for the ways we really haven't come to truly know our father yet. There is a different between knowing and knowing. One has all the facts but the other is personal and proven.
We can be thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Speaking of anger, God accomplished his righteousness for us by pouring out his anger on Christ on the cross. In theory and in reality, the cross of Christ removes any and every cause for sinners to be sinfully angry. If there is any injustice at all that warrants our anger it is the one that saves our soul. So we are invited, believer, to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. God is and will accomplish all of his good purposes for our joy and his glory.
Pastor Kevin
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