...Have Self-Control
James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Remember he’s writing to those who already know Christ. He does NOT say “let some people be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” – but that’s how we live! “Let EVERY PERSON be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” I could stop right there and say anyone who’s struggling with that needs to repent, and pray over this issue, and we could leave it right there. And almost every person reading this would need to get on their knees. This is one of the most convicting and directly applicable verses in the entire Bible.
James 1:20-21 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word,
which is able to save your souls.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word,
which is able to save your souls.
Faith helps me see things more clearly about my anger and what I need to do about it.
The phrase “put away” in verse 21 literally means “put off” or “take it off”. It refers to filthy clothing that you’re wearing. Some of you are parents or grandparents of young children and you have the suit coat, sweater, or shirt that has formula spit-up all down the back. Do you keep wearing that? After you’ve eaten a hot dog and dribbled mustard and relish all over yourself, do you keep the shirt on? NO! You go change the shirt. When you get home from a long day working in the factory, or changing oil, or working in the yard, what do you do? Some of you take the clothes off and they go straight in the washing machine before you even go through the house! Because it’s gross. It’s the same things being applied here. “Put away…”
Verses 19-21 outline specifically what self-control should look like. To put it in our words, it means “Shut up and listen!” They also outline what wisdom should look like. We all say that we want to do better, to do more, and some of you are still sitting here going through the motions. Who in here is willing to admit that you’re doing that already: you go to church because it’s Sunday morning and for no other reason. You pray before your meal because it’s just what good Christian people do. You’re already stuck in it, and you want to break loose.
Self-control: that’s what it should look like. Here’s what it doesn’t look like:
The phrase “put away” in verse 21 literally means “put off” or “take it off”. It refers to filthy clothing that you’re wearing. Some of you are parents or grandparents of young children and you have the suit coat, sweater, or shirt that has formula spit-up all down the back. Do you keep wearing that? After you’ve eaten a hot dog and dribbled mustard and relish all over yourself, do you keep the shirt on? NO! You go change the shirt. When you get home from a long day working in the factory, or changing oil, or working in the yard, what do you do? Some of you take the clothes off and they go straight in the washing machine before you even go through the house! Because it’s gross. It’s the same things being applied here. “Put away…”
Verses 19-21 outline specifically what self-control should look like. To put it in our words, it means “Shut up and listen!” They also outline what wisdom should look like. We all say that we want to do better, to do more, and some of you are still sitting here going through the motions. Who in here is willing to admit that you’re doing that already: you go to church because it’s Sunday morning and for no other reason. You pray before your meal because it’s just what good Christian people do. You’re already stuck in it, and you want to break loose.
Self-control: that’s what it should look like. Here’s what it doesn’t look like:
Judges 16:4-21 4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver." 6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you." 7 Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound." 11 And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. 13 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. 15 And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies." 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man." 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison
If you’ve heard of Samson, you’ve heard of all the great feats, the lion he killed, the guys he beat to death. He was super strong, great man of God and wow, everyone wants to be like him. But if you read Judges 13-16, that’s not what you’re going to read. You’re read about a guy who is completely out of control, and in the midst of all that stuff, God chose to use him to reach his nation, to reach the people of Israel. Specifically, you read about Samson and Delilah. Now Delilah, she was just a hottie, no other way to put it, and Samson – you don’t get to be that strong and not be ripped. Samson was chiseled, you know he was. He was a massive hulk of a man, muscles everywhere. And so the pretty people decide they want to get together, but Delilah is doing this for a different reason. Samson is just like, “Wow, she is…whoo! Yeah, I’ll spend time with her!” Everybody knows what he’s thinking! But she’s got an ulterior motive. What’s he do? He’s just hanging out, having a good time. What’s she doing? She’s trying to figure out how to stop this fool from destroying her people. “Samson, how did you get your strength?” “Oh, you know, if you tie me up with seven new bowstrings, it’ll totally stop all my strength.” So he falls asleep and what happens? He gets tied up with seven new bowstrings! That should have been the first clue! He’s maybe not the sharpest crayon in the box. So he breaks free, and she’s like “You liar, that didn’t work!” So he says that if she ties him up with new rope, that’ll do it. Why is he continuing down this path?? He falls asleep, wakes up and what’s happened? He’s tied up with new rope! Okay, breaks free, now Delilah’s super upset about his lies. Why was his first question not, “Why are you doing this stuff to me?” What’s the next one, well if you braid my hair into a loom… (see he’s getting closer – he is not being quick to listen, slow to speak in any way – he’s after the cute girl. Period.) So what happens? Falls asleep, wakes up with a loom attached to his head, breaks free. Delilah is fuming about his lies, and then like a knucklehead he tells her the truth! Based on the completely non-existent evidence that she can handle the truth!!
So what happens? The same thing that happens to us because we don’t slow down and take the time to think about what we’re actually hearing, because I know what I want to say and I’m ready to fire stuff back right away. How many of you, when you’re watching sports, yell at the screen, throw the popcorn, spill the beer, because of a call and then when you see the replay realize it was actually a good call?? Super easy example – but apply that to your life, apply that to the greater decisions, to the conversations you’ve had today with your family, apply that to the conversations you had yesterday. Are you really hearing what someone is saying to you, or are you so fed up and so furious that you’re out of control? The deeper you get into this, the more your faith will help you see that clearly.
So what happens? The same thing that happens to us because we don’t slow down and take the time to think about what we’re actually hearing, because I know what I want to say and I’m ready to fire stuff back right away. How many of you, when you’re watching sports, yell at the screen, throw the popcorn, spill the beer, because of a call and then when you see the replay realize it was actually a good call?? Super easy example – but apply that to your life, apply that to the greater decisions, to the conversations you’ve had today with your family, apply that to the conversations you had yesterday. Are you really hearing what someone is saying to you, or are you so fed up and so furious that you’re out of control? The deeper you get into this, the more your faith will help you see that clearly.