Quick to Listen, Slow to Anger: Taming Our Words

23Ever find yourself getting frustrated with others? I’ve got to be honest with you, sometimes I find myself doing a little trash talk, both to myself and openly, about others who have frustrated me to no end. I could start the slow driver in the left lane selfishly texting and not caring about anyone else but themselves. I’m not proud of it and I’m sure it’s just frustration coming out, but it’s not cool. “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”James 1:19-20 Look, we get a lot of stuff thrown at us everyday. Negativity coming from everywhere. “People” will suck the energy from you. Someone will let you down. Something positive you hoped for will not happen...But, there’s good news. We can take a lot of that trash out by cutting back on the trash we put out there. And since you have complete control over your own mouth, that means you have the power right away to eliminate 50 percent of it. Dig?I get it, venting your anger on someone else briefly feels pretty good, because you think you gave somebody a piece of your mind, but now you’re worse off because the other person is plotting a nasty comeback and is going to hit you harder. Vicious cycle. You will truly feel better inside if you don’t go off on other people. Have the self-awareness to know if your desire to retaliate is coming from your own insecurity or shame. Realize that some people’s trash talk is an attempt by a person who feels small trying to make himself or herself bigger. Jesus is your hero. He took the hits instead of seeking revenge. You get more points from God for ending an argument than for trying to crush an opponent.How much work in this area do you need? If you ever drove with me, you’d know I do…Be Nice, Grace Wins.