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A Lack of Listening in

a culture of conflict 

(Part 2)

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A Lack of Listening in a Culture of Conflict

     In Part 1 of this article series, we established the role that a lack of listening plays in creating a culture of conflict.  Having established the relevance of the issue today, it’s time to continue our look at the book of James for the remedy set forth for us.

A New Creation in Christ, A New Conduct for Christians

    James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, an early leader of the Christian church, and writer of the biblical book named after him, wrote to address the issues of a conflicted and quarreling community of Christians. Relatively early in the letter, he wrote this instruction:

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (Jas 1:19-21 ESV)

      Immediately before this command, James wrote to these Christians that “Of his (God’s) own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (Jas. 1:18) Taken together in context, James was revealing that God was creating a new creation among them by the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the word of truth he refers to as a fellow servant of Jesus. This word about the work of Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary atoning death for sinners, and his resurrection to life had been applied to them by the Holy Spirit to bring a new spiritual birth, a new belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and commanded a new behavior that was to define their community life. 

     Douglas Moo explains the interpretation as follows, “the most important piece of evidence in favor of a ‘redemptive’ birth here is the phrase word of truth. The syntax suggests that this ‘word’ is the instrument through which God brings people to life. All four of the other occurrences of the phrase in the NT refer to the gospel as the agent of salvation (2 Cor 6:7, Eph 1:13, Col 1:5, 2 Tim 2:15). And this reference to ‘word’ must also be seen in relation to the other important uses of the same term (Gk. logos) in this context (v.21, 22, 23). The ‘implanted word’ of verse 21 is sometimes thought to be a consciousness of God resident by nature in every human being. Yet (or however) this word, James says, can ‘save your souls’: indication, again, that the gospel is in view (1).” (paranthesis added)

      So then, James was saying to this original quarreling community that rather than salvation coming through being quick to speak their words against one another, they would find salvation through submitting to God’s Word to them, the gospel of Jesus Christ. As James says, this means continually putting away, or turning away from, all behaviors pertaining to malicious desires which come naturally, and with submissiveness to the word about Jesus which gives a new birth, a new belief in Jesus, and a new behavior, they were to conduct themselves towards others in a manner consistent with God’s commands. Not only was this counter-cultural, this was counter-natural to their sin natures. 

     In fact, James is showing that the gospel of Jesus is the word that God had promised through the prophets that He would place within them and write on their hearts.  The prophet Jeremiah foretold,  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer, 31:31-33)

A New Way of Life Leading to God’s Blessing in Community     

     With this fulfillment now in view, James brought the weight of the new covenant reality with its implanted word to immediately bear on the quarreling characteristics of these first century believers. Even after addressing the anger issues underlying their speech issues, James still keeps giving speech imperatives. His opening shot in this engagement is to essentially “stop the bleeding” caused by the full vent being given to their old sinful natures. They are being slow to listen to each other, quick to speak out against one another, and quick to unrighteous anger which was not producing the fruit of a new creation as followers of Jesus. As the letter progresses, James will instruct them to bridle their tongues (speech) or else their religion is worthless (Jas 1:26, see also 3:2), warn them about the fiery destruction that warring words can cause (Jas 3:6), call them out on their double-tongued nature of blessing God and cursing people (Jas 3:10), and reveal to them that their warring words were actually due to warring passions within themselves (Jas 4:1).

     The effect of the sustained argument of the letter is that James actually shows the problem of conflict in community does not first lie with the “other” but with the “self” of corrupt desires, wanting things contrary to God’s good will.  If they did not check these desires from within, they would continue to wreck their community without. James grabs hold of them lovingly, yet firmly by the shoulders and says, “stop arguing with each other and start addressing the wrong desires that are within.”  In their case, some silence really would have been “golden.”

     The way out of their “bad speaking” situation was through becoming better “listeners” of the gospel of Jesus planted within them, and better “doers” of the obedience it called them to. In summary, becoming betters hearers of God would cause them to be better hearers of one another, speakers to one another, and restrain them from lashing out in unrighteous anger towards one another. They would live in community best when they walked in submission to Jesus first.

     With all this instruction the wisdom of Proverbs agree and add their testimony. Proverbs 17:27-28 says, “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” And again, “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Prov. 18:20-21)

Stay tuned for part 3

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Endnotes: 

  1. Douglas J. Moo, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James, Grand Rapids Michigan, Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2000. E-book location 1245



Tony Loseto

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