June 20
Slow to Speak,
Quick to Listen
“My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry. Human anger doesn’t produce the holy life God wants.”
James 1:19-20 (NIrV)
Wyatt’s voice echoed through the house yet again. His wife, Gina, quietly placed a plate on the dining table, her hands trembling slightly. Wyatt’s temper had flared because the eggs weren’t cooked the way he liked. “How hard is it to get one thing right?” he snapped before stomping out the door.
At the bus stop, Wyatt let loose on the driver for running late. He stormed into the grocery store later that afternoon and berated the cashier for moving too slowly. And when his teenage son, Ethan, forgot to take out the trash, Wyatt’s frustration boiled over into another loud, scathing tirade.
But what Wyatt didn’t see—or refused to see—was the way people shrank back when he entered a room. His kids avoided talking to him unless they absolutely had to. His neighbors no longer stopped to chat. And Gina, once his best friend, now moved through the house like a shadow, careful not to provoke him.
Late one night, Wyatt couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, angry that Gina had gone to bed without saying goodnight. “She doesn’t care,” he grumbled, staring at the ceiling. But as the silence of the house closed in, something stirred inside him. Deep down, he knew the truth: it wasn’t Gina who didn’t care. It was him.
The next morning, Wyatt came downstairs to find a note from Gina beside his coffee cup. It read:
"Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry.”
Wyatt frowned. “She thinks a Bible verse will fix this?” he muttered. He stuffed the note in his pocket and went about his day. But the verse wouldn’t leave him alone. It played in his mind as he shouted at a coworker later that day. It echoed in his heart when his daughter flinched as he raised his voice during dinner.
That night, Gina gently approached him. “Wyatt, I can’t do this anymore,” she said quietly. “I love you, but the kids and I can’t live in fear of your anger every day. Something has to change.”
Wyatt’s first instinct was to defend himself. “It’s not that bad,” he started, but the look on Gina’s face stopped him. For the first time, he saw the toll his temper had taken on her and the family.
Still, change didn’t come easily. The next morning, Wyatt resolved to stay calm, but by mid-morning, he was already snapping at Gina over something small. That evening, he yelled at Ethan for forgetting his homework. The cycle continued, each outburst followed by a pang of guilt.
Frustrated, Wyatt prayed for the first time in years. “God, I don’t know how to stop. I don’t even know where to begin. Help me, because I can’t do this alone.”
The next day, Wyatt reread the verse from Gina’s note. “Quick to listen. Slow to speak. Slow to get angry.” He realized he had been doing the opposite his entire life. Slowly, painfully, he started to practice restraint.
When the bus was late again, Wyatt clenched his fists but kept his mouth shut. When Ethan spilled juice on the carpet, Wyatt took a deep breath and said, “Let’s clean it up together.” Each moment felt like climbing a mountain, but Wyatt was determined.
It wasn’t perfect. Wyatt still slipped up. There were days he snapped and had to apologize. But over time, the tension in the house began to lift. Gina smiled more. The kids started joking around at the dinner table again. And Wyatt—though it was hard—began to see that controlling his temper was worth it.
One evening, Gina handed him another note. This one simply said, “I’m proud of you.” Tears filled Wyatt’s eyes as he realized that God had been with him every step of the way, helping him grow into the man he was called to be.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You for never giving up on me, even when I’ve let anger control my actions.
I know change isn’t easy, but I trust that with Your help, I can grow into someone who listens more, speaks less, and loves better.
Forgive me for the hurt I’ve caused and give me the strength to keep moving forward, even when it feels impossible.
Help me to lean on You in moments of frustration and to show grace to those around me.
Thank You for the transformation You’re working in my life.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
