Quick, Slow, Slow Series

If we were to go back and look at the sermon on the mount, one of the clearest New Testament teachings on the Torah, we would see that Jesus affects matters of the heart in his application of the law. He frequently says - “you have heard…, but I say to you.” He raises the bar on what living the word, or looking intently at the perfect law looks like.

For example, it’s possible to read the word (the command in the Torah) that says - “do not murder,” look at ourselves in the mirror and think - “check, I got that one, haven’t killed anyone” - no problem - not really give it a second thought and the move on.

But when we consider Jesus’ teaching, he seems to call us to linger, to lean in and look closely at what murdering entails.

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

So, as Jesus interprets or applies the law, he looks deeper into the root of the matter. Now he gets to our hearts and emotions. He’s getting to our speech.

How often have we lashed out while driving or said things to people out of anger? How often have we written people off as hopeless causes and veritably condemned them to hell because we deem them not worthy of the gospel or our time? Where have we made comments that demean public figures or others on social media, stating things that we know we would not say in person?

James and Jesus invite us to look in at the word, the law, and live it out more wholly.

James 1:26 ESV

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

Again, for James and Jesus is not about religious conformity, but holy transformation. They are not calling us to simply perform some religious tasks, but to exemplify that redeemed life that we say we have through Jesus Christ.

James seems to use some of the concepts in this first chapter as an introduction for themes that he will address more fully later on. It’s clear that one thing James has in mind is how our hearing, receiving, examining, and applying the implanted word impacts our speech. Remember, he started this section with the admonition to be quick, slow, slow - quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Once again, beloved, how is your speech? Do you speak out of anger or frustration? Do you speak hastily? Do you use words that are biting or even vulgar?

As Christians - the implanted word should impact our topics of conversation, the words we use, the comments we say about others, and even our joking.

Maybe this is just my own personal bent, but I am often frustrated by the way that our culture, media sources, and entertainment is so riddled with foul language. Personally, it seems like the overabundance of expletives really only displays a lack of creativity and thoughtfulness in speech.