Introduction
Have you ever met someone who just acts impulsively; they do things without thinking or with the wrong motivations? Maybe a friend of yours buys something they don’t need. Perhaps you have been in a conversation and had no idea what people were talking about. Of course, you said something to fit only to show them you had no clue what they were talking about. I’ve been there! In the Christian life, the stakes are much higher than looking dumb in front of our friends. We are called to reflect Christ to a watching world. What happens when we are motivated by something else? What happens when we are not listening to what God has to say? The end of this chapter helpfully addresses this for us. Doing so gives us three options for going forward. Let’s examine them as we look at this passage together.
Option 1: Action Without Listening
The first action that James addresses is speech. He talks about motivations for speech and what we must avoid. Unfortunately, our speech can be directed by our anger and resentment instead of being careful and constructive. Let’s look at these different ideas.
Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak
The Bible tells us in this passage that we should prioritize listening over our speech. An old saying goes, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” The problems and difficulties we face are often caused by not listening well and putting ourselves in front of others.
Think about this in conversations you have had. How often, even while they are talking, are you more concentrated on what you will say back to them than actually listening? Satan loves to convince us that we are always right and have all the answers. You will find that some of the godliest people you encounter are those who listen to you and value your input. There was a couple at our previous church in Pennsylvania that would invite young couples over just to listen to them talk and try to gain insight from them. They were in their 70s, and they wanted to learn from us 20-somethings! Slow down, listen to others, and respect them. It will go a long way in reflecting Christ.
Honoring people by listening is important for us as well. If we are not careful, we can have two types of knowledge – things I know and things that are not worth knowing. But falsely thinking that we have arrived is a sure way not to get to the destination. Think about it: if you are heading out on a road trip and you think you know the area, the destination is right there off the next off-ramp, and you might turn off the GPS. This is familiar; you know the way. But what happens when you realize you are wrong? You quickly turn the GPS back on; you’re now ready to listen because you realize you don’t know as much as you think you do.
For Christians, understanding our finitude – the reality that we all have limitations and that we don’t have it all figured out- should give us a healthy humility that fuels proper listening. Of course, listening is only as good as the content we are listening to. 19th Century German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said it this way,
The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. – A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.
Of course, this is not a novel sentiment but merely echoing what Scripture has already said. Ecclesiastes 12:12 says,
My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
He follows it up in the next sentence by saying,
(13) The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Anger produces hasty speech
Slow Speech Online
It is interesting that speech and anger are connected. Often, our hasty speech and anger result from being slow to listen. I see this quite a bit on social media. People are venting about something, and typically, it misrepresents whatever they are complaining about. They are quick to speak but slow to listen to the other view and make sure their critiques are accurate.
This is especially true in a meme-happy world that doesn’t care about facts but simply throws more gasoline on the fire. If you don’t care if your post is correct or not, as long as it supports your position, you are not acting in a Christian way. Critiques and pushback on opinions are fine if warranted, but without listening well to the other side, they are empty speech at best; many times, they are a sinful misrepresentation.
Appropriate Anger
This, of course, is not saying that all anger is wrong. There are many times in Scripture where we see righteous anger; Jesus is one example. These are typically associated with being angry because others are being harmed, not ourselves. We have to be careful to justify our anger and fight for our rights because our motives are not always the best. I like how Luther put it, “When it comes to me and mine, I will turn the other cheek like a good Christian, Where my neighbor is concerned I will fight for justice on His behalf.” This is a good rule of thumb and connects with the later part of this section.
Option 2. Listening Without Action
If the first danger is to act without listening – often out of anger. The second danger is to listen and not act. Of course, James’ main thrust of listening in these verses is listening to the Lord. He is the One to whom we owe our allegiance, and His voice must carry the most weight.
Obedience Must Follow Listening
James talks about the importance of obedience following listening. We don’t merely hear the words, but we do them. They are meant to do something in us. Interestingly, this comes after James has told them to put away all the filth and receive the Word meekly. God has saved us for something new; we are dead to the old way of living and alive to the new way.
So, James says when we don’t follow God through His Word, we are deceiving the very core of who we are now. We are sinners saved by grace, and we are called sons and daughters. This changes everything. To listen to God’s Word and not obey is like calling ourselves a soldier and laughing at our commanding officer’s instructions.
God’s Word Helps Us See What Needs to Change
James uses a helpful illustration for us; he says it’s like looking in a mirror and then just walking away and then forgetting what we look like.
Mirrors in the ancient world were very different from our modern crystalline inventions. Generally made of polished bronze or copper, they produced dim and warped reflections. While one could gain a good impression of oneself, one could not simply glance at such a mirror and learn much. So one would have to “consider” carefully what one saw in a mirror. Martin adds that “what is seen in a mirror is meant to lead to action, usually regarded as remedial,” for example, a dirty face that needs washing. Yet here this person goes away and fails to deal with the flaws that the mirror revealed.[1]
One commentator said it’s like staring at yourself in the mirror intently and then not being able to pick yourself out of a police lineup![2]
The idea is that they immediately forget; the truth does not stick with them and does not benefit them. It is like looking at yourself and seeing food all over your face and then turning away, shrugging, and going on with your day. No, the mirror serves to help you notice those things so that you are saved from the embarrassment of food on your face. In the same way, it is silly when we sit and listen to sermons, read our Bibles, and think on God’s truth if it doesn’t affect the way we live. God’s Word reveals the dirt and messiness of our lives, and this should lead to correcting, not neglecting.
I posted this on social media, and some of you saw it. But a couple of weeks ago, the collar of my blazer was up the whole sermon. It was not my intention. Typically, I put my mic on earlier and usually check myself in the mirror beforehand. But I never checked and wasn’t able to see what needed correcting. If I had and left it like that, perhaps it would have been purposeful; if not, you might think, “Wait, you saw that and didn’t do anything. Why?” I didn’t see it. But how many of us look into the mirror of God’s Word, see something, and go away without correcting it?
Option 3: Listening and Action
God’s commands reflect His perfect character
God’s commands are good for us because they reflect his perfect character. When we live in them as the proper environment for us we are living lives that reflect God as we were intended to reflect him.
| God’s Law | God’s Character |
| Do not murder. | God gives life. |
| Do not commit adultery. | God is faithful. |
| Do not steal. | God is generous; he gives good gifts. |
| Do not bear false witness. | God’s word is true; he keeps his promises. |
| Be kind to orphans, widows, and aliens. | God is kind to orphans, widows and aliens.[3] |
God’s Word Gives Us Proper Parameters for Flourishing
God’s Word is not meant to be a restriction in our lives, but it shows us how God intends us to live. Unfortunately, today we get our definition of freedom from our culture. Our culture says that freedom is the ability to do whatever we want whenever we want. That’s not how the Bible defines freedom. Instead, it’s listening and action that is true freedom. It is flourishing in the conditions that God has set for us.
Last week, I went to the Bahamas for my brothers wedding. On the Island there are a lot of sharks. We saw them standing on the dock during the day and at night, and we understood why. It was a big fishing island, and after the fisherman had cleaned their fish, they would dump the remains in the water. My brother asked if he could jump in or if he would get attacked. A local said you would get attacked. 1000% percent. Sharks are strong and powerful. They have a ton of freedom. But this is true only when they are in their proper environment. While some sharks can survive in freshwater, typically it dehydrates them, dulls their senses, and compromises their reproduction. It also makes them sink. They need to expend more energy to swim. Researchers found that the bull shark can survive part-time in rivers. However, because of a loss of buoyancy, the shark must spend about 50% more energy on lift once it leaves the ocean.[4] But take the shark out of the water altogether, and suddenly, there is not the same risk. They lose their freedom. What was powerful and strong is suddenly stranded and appearing weak – now at risk itself.
God has designed people a certain way, and He has given us His Word to live in a way that is for our good and His glory. To ignore this and not notice it is to deny our design. For Christians, it is also to reject our rescue. We are saved from a life of living in the environment of sin that we had created. Like the prodigal son living among the slop and the pigs, we live in the filth of our own sin instead of the blue waters of God’s good design. But for those who are saved, we are called to a better way. A call to reflect what the new heavens and new earth will be like, we showcase true freedom to the watching world. In the future, there won’t be sinning anymore; if freedom is being able to do what we want, then there is no freedom in heaven. But, if freedom is enjoying But, if freedom is enjoying God and glorifying Him through listening and action, heaven has that in surplus. That, James says, is a blessing.
Conclusion
When it comes to listening and action, the chief example is Jesus Christ. He said that he came not to do his will but the Father who sent him. He listened and submitted in His humanity. He succeeded where we continually fail. It is because of His success that we can have true freedom. Freedom from the curse of the law. When we look in the mirror of God’s Word and recognize our sin – yes, we should turn from it, but we should also understand that we cannot save ourselves. The mirror continues to show blemishes, and the only way to get rid of them all is Jesus. He forgives all who repent and believe, and through Him, you can have hope that He will continue to work in your life as you reflect Him to the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. As the words of the old hymn go,
“Trust and obey,
for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus
than to trust and obey.”
[1] Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 90.
[2] Baker, as quoted in Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 91.
[3] Chart is from Daniel M. Doriani, James, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), 53.
[4] “Sharks Sink in Fresh Water,” accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.science.org/content/article/sharks-sink-fresh-water.
Boonstra Babble 