James 1:19-20

Easy, right?!

Oh wait.

I think that people often refer back to James 1:19--we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Now, those aren't easy things, but it seems like the perfect formula, so we toss those words around either as a warning to ourselves or maybe even as a warning to someone else...probably when they are offending us, which is a whole separate issue.

But verse 20 is what really hits me. You see, when we talk more than we listen, when use our words to hurt people, or are invoked to anger by the words or actions of others, we are sinning.

God doesn't desire dissension. Conflict isn't honoring to Him. Arguing doesn't lead to righteousness.

Rather, we should seek to understand the story of those we are in conflict with, and this is done primarily through listening. And when we realize that two people can have different viewpoints that are both legitimate and based on their experiences, we'll be more apt to be compassionate.

And compassion is something that will honor God and affect our human relationships.