TCM Devotions: Listening Before Speaking

Verse: James 1: 19-20
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Devotion:
It’s really difficult to listen and think clearly when we are angry or when we are eager to speak. It can often cause us to not fully understand what people are trying to tell us because we are only thinking about what is making us angry or what we are about to say next. In many cases, it is when we are able to listen to the person we are talking to and stay calm that we are able to learn the most. In the same way, sometimes when we blame people around us, or blame God, for our troubles we end up missing out on how God is trying to guide us through those circumstances. Our quickness to speak and quickness to be angry blurs our ability to listen and receive from God. But if we are quicker to listen, and to receive, we can be more in tune to what God is trying to tell us.

Thought:
How does listening reflect gentleness and show love to people around us? Are you open to hearing God speak in any situation?