Sermon Video: Be Slow to Anger - James 1:19-21

How much better would our world be if everyone followed the advice of James that we ought to be, "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry"?  Sadly, the opposite is often the case for many people as they are instead, slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry.  For the Christian, this path is not optional, as we are commanded to be disciples of Jesus Christ, ever growing toward Christ-likeness by learning to value other people enough to put our own impulses and desires aside.  When we make progress toward that goal we will be able to listen to other people, because we care about them, hold on to our tongue to avoid saying things we shouldn't, because we care about other people, and keep our anger in check, whatever its cause, because we care enough about other people that we aren't willing to hurt them to indulge our anger.
Anger is the key to the point that James is making about our attitude as Christians.  Anger simply does not lead to righteousness.  We are not the righteous judge that God is, nor do we have our anger under control, so that even our "righteous anger" at evil tends to run away with us.  It is better for us, as Christians, to not allow anger a place in our hearts, we're in far less danger of giving in to the temptation to sin without it.

To watch the video, click on the link below: