Living in the Spirit
August 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: James 1:17-27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 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. 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. –James 1:17-21

These verses are excellent advice for those of us who take our role of citizen seriously, which we all should do. Here in Oklahoma, we have just survived a nasty runoff election. If it is any indication of what is coming, November is a long way off. So, let’s take these ideas to heart:

Being Quick to Listen
Everyone does not experience life the same way we do. N. T. Wright would call it our worldviews. I grew up on a farm and will always carry kernels of farm truth throughout my life, but I have been an urban dweller more than twice as long as I spent on the farm and I now benefit markedly from conversations with family members whose lives are tied to the earth. I hope I can share insights on urban life with them, so we understand each other’s challenges better. I am white, female, and elderly. My ancestors all arrived in the USA before 1800 and they were all immigrants in times when documentation of citizenship was not well established. I thus also must seek insights from a wide diversity of people to understand their vision for our country and world. We the people must seek common ground among ourselves for it to be reflected in the Common Good at the government level.

Being Slow to Speak
There is a difference in being slow to speak and not taking a stand at all. We certainly need to be thoughtful when we discuss issues of the day and be clear that we are expressing our opinions, but we are past the time of burying our heads in the sand. If we want to live in a world ruled by love rather than violence and hate, we must choose to live our love and testify to its advantages.

Being Slow to Anger
The scripture seems to accept the fact that humans do get angry. It is what we do with the anger that matters. Do we turn it inward and let it eat at our souls? Do we turn it outward resulting in inappropriate behavior even violence? Or do we turn it over to God and let God turn it into positive energy for our use in working toward remolding the world into the Kingdom of God. We often get angry because that is exactly what the perpetrator of the anger wants us to do. Anger can make us act in ways we normally would not act and say things we normally would not say making us tools of those with whom we disagree. Anger channeled in positive, creative ways can make positive and creative changes.

Prayer: Lord,  empower me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.