“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20
Let us be swift to hear and slow to speak – that goes against human nature, doesn’t it? We all want our point to be heard and therefore, many times, we try to make it before someone else is even done speaking.
This verse tells us that we are to listen first and then speak after we have heard and thought about it. When we are slow to speak, we get a chance to think through what we want to say.
Slow to wrath – how many times have we jumped to conclusions or gotten defensive and been the deliverer of wrath?
Now, this applies to all areas of our lives and relationships. When we look at it in relation to our business dealings, we see that we need to listen to customers and, if you have them, employees. We need to let them speak and tell us what’s on their mind. Then, without anger, we should answer them (after we have heard them out.)
I believe, when we behave in accordance with this verse, God is pleased and we also have much more harmonious relationships. Your business will benefit from it also. Don’t we all want to do business with someone who is not going to fly off the handle when we have a complaint or an issue to discuss? Be that “someone” that people want to deal with:-)
