Four Words That Could Save Your Marriage, Relationships, and Sanity

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My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. – James 1:19 

I’ve been reviewing the book of James lately and all the practical guidance found there. So much of James deals with the power of the tongue – I counted 23 verses in this short book having to do with our words. James says of the tongue,

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole man, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6)

Strong words! Strong enough to inspire my New Year’s resolution:

Listen more, talk less!

When someone makes what I would consider a ridiculously outrageous statement, I need to remember to stop … take a breath, and calmly ask, “What makes you think that?” or “Interesting thought. How did you come to that conclusion?” Then I need to really listen to them share their thoughts before presenting another perspective. I might gain some valuable insights about the person, instead of just shooting them down, which only shuts off communication. I might even find out their perspective isn’t so ridiculous after all, that they have taken into account something that hadn’t occurred to me.

In other words, I just might learn something.

Then, if there’s something the other person is missing, I can respectfully share it, using phrases such as, “Have you considered …?” But this should happen only after I have let them speak their mind. And when sharing my perspective, I’ve discovered four little words that can express respect and humility and make a world of difference. They could also save me from future humiliation resulting overconfidence and/or arrogance. (Please don’t ask me how I know.)

Those four words? “I could be wrong.”

Do you have a New Year’s resolution inspired by a particular verse of Scripture? I’d love to hear about it.

Prayer: Lord, I know that I am a helpless sinner who will never in this life live up to Your holiness. And yet, You call me to a life that is more Christlike and give me Your Spirit to enable me to progress in that direction. In spite of my failures, You continue to pick me up, accept my prayers of repentance, forgive my failings, and encourage me to continue striving toward holiness. Your Word makes it clear that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So, I give You my heart and ask You to fill it with the fruits of the Spirit. Put a guard at my mouth and a rein on my tongue. Help me be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry,” so that every word coming through me is accomplishing what You want it to, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Published by seekingdivineperspective

I am a forgiven sinner and adopted child of God, seeking to see life from His perspective - as opposed to the world's flawed perspective - and living my life accordingly.

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25 thoughts on “Four Words That Could Save Your Marriage, Relationships, and Sanity”

  3. Great advice, Annie! “Listen more, talk less” is so important. Someone who has strong opinions is not likely to give you the floor, so let them have their say. When they come up for air, hit them with “I could be wrong, but…. 🙂

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    1. This morning as I was going over that passage in James, the Lord gave me a mental picture of what it means to be “quick to listen” that I believe is very relevant to today. I am going to write a post on it very soon. Thanks for stopping by, Vickie. Happy New Year!

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