Day 2681 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

James 1:19 NIV

I think we could all agree that this past week has been interesting to say the least. I mean, these days it seems like there's some new outrage or misunderstanding or problem to be discussed almost daily. That whole "world peace" idea has basically gone by the wayside and folks are seeking other priorities instead. Now that's not something that should be surprising to us because Scripture tells us that the world will plummet into even deeper darkness than anything we've seen before. But still, it is shocking to see and hear many of the things that we're witnessing unfold around us.

One of the growing problems that I’ve noticed, and that I assume many others will agree with, is that we’re impressively unwilling to listen. We’ve learned to tune our ears to only what we agree with. If something is confrontational, offensive, hurtful, or coming from a different perspective then we’re probably just going to tune it out. I mean after all, we have our feelings and opinions to worry about, am I right? We can’t risk the possibility of actually turning out to be wrong or needing to learn something. Oh, what horror! I hope I can sleep tonight after such a thought!

But unfortunately, when people only hear what they want to hear, they’re probably going to wind up missing out on hearing the full message that someone is trying to share with them. And what’s maybe even more problematic is that whenever folks hear something they don’t like or agree with, they immediately jump on the offensive, stop listening, and just start yelling. We’ve become so entrenched in our opinions that anything that goes against them or even sounds like it goes against them will be met with the full force of our wrath.

We don’t have time to be quick to listen because as soon as we’ve heard something we don’t like then we gotta be quick to fight back and protect our delicate sensitivities.

I thought of that when I went back and looked at yesterday’s verse again. Isaiah 55:9 - Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Let’s take that verse as an example of what I’m trying to point out.

That verse starts off with a harsh truth that hits of all of us right in the gut and points to the mistakes we’ve made and the flaws that we have. And sadly, people these days will stop there because that part is offensive to this idea that we’ve chosen to accept that has us convinced we’re not sinful or wicked or fallen or full of weaknesses and issues that need to be addressed. It calls us out. It forces us to admit that we’ve messed up, gotten things wrong, and lived lives that are in no way what they should have been due to poor choices that we shouldn’t have made. And it’s hard hearing that kind of thing because we live in a world that only seeks comfort and we’ve learned to find comfort in thinking that we’re perfect and never mess anything up and don’t have anything to work on or improve or change.

You see, nowadays people have a real problem in being told that they’re doing something wrong. Collectively, our society has chosen to move past honesty and pursue the comfort found in this new-world idea that tells us that our opinions are immune to being wrong. And when we buy into that idea that tells us that everything we think is right, then we’re going to find ourselves seeing our opinions as truth and as rights that we have that shouldn’t be questioned. People only want what they want, only want hear from those who agree with them, and had better not come across anyone who dares have a different opinion or point of view.

That’s where message like that of Isaiah 55:7 become unfortunately tossed aside. When we only want to hear what makes us feel good, then those messages that point out our flaws and issues are going to be among the first to be ignored. When we hear something that we disagree with or that confronts our complacency and forces us to consider a differing perspective that demands humility, we’re probably just going to stop listening. Yet that often means that we end up missing out on hearing the point of the message all because we stopped paying attention at the hard part.

So let’s take that verse again. If we stop listening because the first part hurts to hear, then we’re going to miss that last bit that tells us about God’s mercy and forgiveness and grace. If we stop paying attention because we’re offended, then we miss out on the point of the verse. It’s not to make us feel bad or hurt our feelings or label us as horrible failures. It’s telling us that there’s something better at hand. It’s calling us to try harder because we’re capable of doing better. It’s pointing to God’s offer of salvation and forgiveness, but if we stop listening and paying attention because it points out something we’re not comfortable with hearing, then we don’t hear the part that tells us why we need to be confronted and moved out of our comfort zones.

And over the last couple of days, we’ve seen yet the latest unfolding of massive protests, innumerable crowds forming, signs being made, and angry voices screaming at one another from differing sides of a very polarizing topic. We all know what I’m talking about, well, unless you live out in the woods completely off the grid and can’t really remember where the nearest town even is. There’s no shortage of difficult topics to discuss, but I think that’s maybe one of the most important parts of what this verse in James is trying to teach us. Things need to be discussed because we don’t know everything, and even though we’re convinced we’re right, that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the case and we may actually have things to learn that could very well help us improve our lives.

Sadly, our world has decided to go the opposite direction of what Scripture is telling us here. We’re quick to become angry. We’re completely unwilling to remain quiet. We won’t listen to anyone let alone actively try to hear what they’re saying. For the most part, folks have simply made their choices and will not entertain the idea of anything different because anything different may require them to consider the possibility that they’re not right and have something to learn or change. And again, we just can’t have that!

No matter where we stand on whatever controversy rears its head next, we have to remember what we’re told in the very next verse of James - Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Our anger only shuts our ears, closes our minds, and causes us to start fighting back against whoever is seemingly against us in the effort to protect ourselves and the opinions and perspectives and feelings that we’ve become so concerned about keeping safe and unharmed. Our anger is usually our way of trying to defend this foolish idea that we already know everything that we’re right about all of it.

What I’m trying to say is that like it or not, we all have things that we can learn. And as humbling and painful as it may be to admit, we often learn from those around us who have different ideas and see things through different eyes. If we only listen to those who agree with us, then we’ll only become further entrenched in what we think, and in the chance that what we think is wrong, then we’ll never be able to fix the issues we have and learn the lessons that we need to learn to make us better people.

Friends, just calm down. Stop jumping to conclusions that may very well be reading things into conversations or topics that simply aren’t there. Stop assuming the worst and give yourself a chance to listen, not simply hear that someone’s making a sound, but actually listen to what they’re trying to say. Who knows, we just might hear something new that makes sense and helps us grow as people. But if we stop listening and focus only on yelling and being angry then all we’ll ever know is what we already know, and well, there’s simply zero opportunity for advancement or a growth in wisdom to be found in staying where we already are.

The truth is that we may not agree with everything we hear. We will never get along perfectly with everyone we meet. But if we don’t have the kindness and patience to listen to them, then why should we expect them to have that kindness and patience toward us? If we end up disagreeing then that’s okay, we can just move on. But if we end up causing harm or undermining the messages that we’re trying to share, then we’re doing more damage than we could ever imagine simply because we’ve chosen to forget that society is a two-way street, and that we have the responsibility to be respectful no matter what.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold