Slow to Wrath
James 1:19-20, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
“Slow to wrath.”
Swift to hear not only means slow to speak but also slow to wrath. It becomes a Godly individual to listen to a matter carefully and weigh the truth of that matter before reacting. We sometimes find ourselves the servant who has been forgiven a very large debt but in anger refuses to forgive one that owes a much smaller amount. [See Matthew 18]
Wrath is natural to the flesh and is the quick reaction. You don’t have to give much thought in order to become angry. A small piece of gossip, an action quickly observed out of context, or an accusation made in haste are just a few things that can snap us into wrath.
“The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
What you can guarantee about quick wrath is that you will not act Godly as a result. Man’s wrath does not work God’s righteousness. A quick temper will not reflect Jesus. It will bring a stain to your personal testimony and to the cause of Christ. One might try to defend by saying, “didn’t Jesus act in wrath when He overthrew the tables and drove out the money changers in the temple?” One should first note that Jesus, while He was man, was also 100% God. Jesus did not work the wrath of man, and the wrath of God is a holy wrath. Also, the force that Jesus used, while never in Scripture described as anger or wrath, worked to the good of the work of God and gave occasion for Jesus to teach afterward. We see questions asked afterward giving Jesus opportunity to instruct. We even see in Matthew 21 that after this incident, the blind and the lame came to Jesus for healing. What Jesus did furthered His work, but the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Ephesians 4:31 instructs us to “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” We need to give over our wrath to God and allow Him to transform our heart. The wrath of man is sinful, as is anything that hinders the righteousness of God. A Christian who struggles with wrath must confess this to God and ask for Him to change us by His Word. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God cleanse me of my quick wrath, and help me to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.
