Some New Year's Advice

Happy New Year to all of you out there. I hope you had a good 2025 and hope your 2026 is even better. Let’s get right to the point. It’s a New Year, so let’s start it off with some good biblical advice. 

I realize that almost no one really likes taking advice. This is especially true if we didn’t ask for said advice. Contrary to that, most people seem to like to give advice. I understand this. I am pretty much the same way. However, when the advice comes from God’s Word, all that changes. When God gives us advice, it is smart to accept it and follow it. 

James gives some good advice in James 1:19, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (NASB used throughout). These three gems of advice are easy to understand but harder to follow. 

Swift to Hear 

The first one is most likely the hardest for most people. James tells us to be “swift to hear.” People want to be listened to when they are talking to you. They want your undivided attention. However, what most people are doing is, instead of listening, they are thinking of what they are going to say back. They are trying to come up with a story that will top the story the other person is sharing. In truth, people just want to be listened to when they are talking. People want us to hear what they are saying. They want us to give them our encouragement and support. 

Several years ago, I read a story, and this a true story, about a man who went to a mall in the city where he lived. It was a large and busy mall and had lots of people coming in every day. He put up a booth, a small black tent. He placed a couple of comfortable chairs in the tent and a small table with ice water and cups for those who might need a drink of water while they talked. Then he put a sign that for five dollars he would listen to you talk, without interruption, for fifteen minutes. You could talk about anything you wanted. He would not reply, he would not judge, and he would offer no advice, even if you asked for it. He let everyone know the money they paid him was all going to charity. He did this for several weekends and gave thousands of dollars to charity. 

The point is, people want to be listened to. They want to be heard. You and I both know that sometimes people, including us, just want to talk to someone. 

Slow to Speak 

The next thing is also hard to do, especially for me. James tells us to be “slow to speak.” The truth is a lot of us have “foot in mouth” disease. Sometimes we say the wrong things because we weren’t listening to what was said to us. (Next time you see me at a meeting, ask me how, due to my mouth, I really embarrassed myself around a dozen people and a nurse at a hospital.) 

Scripture is clear we need to put a guard on our mouth. There are many verses in the book of Proverbs that instruct us in being careful what we say: 

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise. — Proverbs 10:19 

Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. — Proverbs 17:28 

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. — Proverbs 18:20 

James tells us that the tongue is restless. The tongue, he says, not only is full of deadly poison but with it we bless and curse God. A sober thought is when he tells us in James 3:6 that the tongue is “set on fire by hell.” 

Let’s all seek to be slow to speak. 

Control Your Temper 

James then instructs us to be “Slow to wrath.” Losing your temper is never a good thing. Losing your temper and getting angry can cause problems that can’t be repaired. James gives us this strict admonition, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:9 tells us, “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of a fool.” When we allow our temper to take over, we make some bad mistakes. We say things we can’t take back. We hurt feelings. We destroy the spirit of our brothers and sisters. These are things that are almost impossible to repair. 

The Bible gives us examples of what can happen when we lose our tempers. When Moses lost his temper, it led to murder. He lost it again later and was barred from entering the land of promise. It was anger coupled with jealousy that led Cain to kill Abel. It can cost you more than you can ever repay when you let your temper get out of hand. 

Paul wrote in Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” 

Many times, our anger is unjust. We are the ones who are wrong. We need to step back, take a deep breath, and pray. When you act from a temper that is out of control, you may do more damage and hurt more people than you can ever imagine. 

Anger is an emotion. You really can’t control your emotions from happening. What you can do, and must do, is control how you handle your emotions and don’t act on them. Paul would tell us it is possible to be angry and yet not sin. We read in Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, do not give the devil a foothold.” 

Wow. This is good advice to start the year off with. Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. If we follow that advice, we will have a better year and an even better life. 

See you next month.