a new life with three s

The 3 s of Spiritual Lives  James
" Swift to hear, Slow to speak and slow to wrath"

As those who are recipients of new life called a " a good gift"  as well as a " perfect " gift from above , we have the new life in a body.  This new life is because God or the " Father of lights" gave us new birth through " the word of truth" that we " should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."  From that great Anglican classic by William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy life we hear," Bended knees while you are clothed with pride; heavenly petitions while you are hoarding treasures upon earth; holy devotions while you live in the follies of the world; prayers of meekness and charity while your heart is the seat of pride and resentment ; hours of prayer while you give up days and years to idle diversions---are as absurb, unacceptable services to God."
  Swift to hear. Swift that is fast...quick.  But swift to hear what?  I always thought it was mainly swift to hear others.  Of course that is a part of it, but it is refering to swift to hear what God has said to us in His written Word and through the Church and our own individual conscience.  Unfortunately we have new lives in Christ but fail to live up to their high calling.  How is that possible?  We would say that this is an area of our Christian growth and sanctification, would we not?
   Slow to speak.  " not rushing hastily to proclaim God's word to others before they have really paid attention to it themselves."  James, by R.V.G. Tasker.  Some of us fail to let the other person speak before we let out what we are saying while they are speaking.  Sound familiar.  We used to practice this skill when I was doing a lot of marriage counseling.  WE call it " have the floor", and we would use something such as a magic marker which we would literally pass from one person to the other, before we heard them.  In other words, they had the floor.
    The third S is slow to wrath.  The anger we have should not be a part of the interplay between us and others.  Anger in itself is not a sin but not rightly released it is.  All of us have anger because we are constantly disappointed with ourselves, others and even God's plans for us.  This or that did not work the way we thought and we are angry.  So our anger can be a real block to effective communication.  Again, this was a big part of marriage counseling.  But it is a big part of any hearing that we do.  If we are so angry and have not gotten that out, we will not hear the other at all.
    " Wherefore" James concludes in this epistle for today, " having laid aside our old lives if I can re-translate" , let us " receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls."  " Every converted Christian brings with him into his new life much that is inconsistent with it.  This has to be laid aside, that he may give himself more completely to the positive work of receiving the implanted word."- Tasker
     The word lay aside means to lay apart.  We need to lay apart all that is dirty in God's sight.  The standard is the Word of God.  We do not have a rule that says, " we do not smoke, we do not drink and we do not chew and we do not go with those who do."  Obviously we will take care of our bodies because we were issued one.  But as Christians we honor God with our bodies and in our behavior.  That is what James is saying. Who would wear dirty clothes to church?  ( now some of us wear things over if they do not feel dirty...but )  Take off the dirty clothes of our unrighteousness and put on the righteousness of God.
       Today we have been encouraged to positive spiritual growth.  Spiritual growth is irrespective of age.  Grey hair is not guarantee of it.  But because God has given us through His Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit a new hope we should live this way.  In the long run, it will be better for us, and all around us!