Reality check

Read James 1:19-20

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. (NLT)

We all see reality differently. This has been proven repeatedly when comparing eyewitness accounts of an event. It applies to those of us who want to apply the Bible to life situations. What is the reality we face? And what realities does the Bible make clear which may be relevant? None of us sees the entire picture.

Which is why we need one another, to listen to one another. To have others give us a reality check as to how we perceive reality. Instead of speaking out assertively on a matter, we may need to hear how others see that issue. We may not have the whole picture just as they will not. Listening to other voices allows us to get the bigger picture and so respond to that reality more appropriately.

Our text reminds us that the good purposes of God are not advanced by his people sounding off as if they know the whole picture without first listening to others who may have wisdom to share. Faith and life are in some ways simple but in other ways complex beyond imagining.

It has been wisely said that people of the church need to share their visions of reality with each other before they shout their judgements at each other.

Blessings
David Reay