Friday, May 4, 2018

Listen, Hush, Calm down

Social media has made it so easy for folks to speak without thinking. WAY too easy. 
People speak online- saying things they would NEVER say to someone in person. 
I see things every single day online that make me cringe- 
because I know that most of the time, 
the people writing them are speaking from anger and doing so impulsively- 
not stopping to consider the impact, pain it may cause, and the consequences of doing so- 
and definitely not taking the time to consider the other's perspective. 

This passage, written so long ago- speaks with amazing clarity to our world today 
and is something I think we all need to be reminded of:
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ~ James 1:19-20
Simply put we are to: Listen, Hush, Calm down. 

Ouch. Those verses step all over my toes. 
If you are like me my human reaction is usually the complete opposite of those things
and I have to work really hard to ignore that gut reaction. 

My prayer today is that we can all:
-LISTEN to really understand a person's concern or complaint (not listen to speak, actually listen)
-WAIT until our initial impulse passes, till we pray, till we ask some clarifying questions
-and THEN respond with patience, kindness, graciousness, honesty and clarity