Two Ears And One Mouth

by Don Hite

With two ears and one mouth, christians should be quick to listen and slow to use your mouth - not the other way around.

In the book of James in verses 1:19-20 he tells us that we are to be quick to listen with our two ears and slow to speak with our one mouth. We are also told that we should be slow to anger.

Then in the next verse he tells us how to be slow to anger. He tells us that we need to get rid of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, slander, and malice.

James 1:19-20 – NIV

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

James addresses this to his Dear Brothers that is to say his brothers and his sisters in Christ or the church. And he wants us to take note of what he is about to say meaning that it is going to be something important.

...In other words he wants our undivided attention and we must listen with our ears and not use our mouth.

Everyone must be quick to listen to the word of God in the bible and the word spoken to us by the Holy Spirit and when we listen he tells us to listen carefully.

As followers of Christ or children of God we must always be ready willing and prepared to listen to the scriptures and the word of God. And when we listen we must also obey and do what is asked or required of us.

Everyone must be slow to speak and slow to become angry. It is not so much that we are not to speak or to speak slowly but he means that we should speak with patience and humility and not babble like the pagans do.

If you are always talking you are never listening and that is what my Mother meant when she said:

“God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak”

and when I first read this passage as an adult and a father I knew where she came up with the expression and now this passage is clear to me.

A wise man is not always the one who talks or speaks the most but a wise man is one who listens intently and carefully to the word of God and then speaks about it with authority and a sense of understanding.

Some people feel that if they talk a lot they are proving to others that they are wise or smart because they have so many words to say. However that is not always the case and this also applies to your prayer life as well.

When you pray Jesus says in Matthew 6:7

”Do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words:

...and this applies to verse 1:19 as well.

When James says that we should be:

“Slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires”

this means that anger does not reflect the true character of God or a godly man or woman. Anger doesn’t help anyone and it does not fix anything it is just our way of venting our frustration over the fact that we think we have been offended or treated unfairly. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians we are to:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Rage and anger often go hand and hand together and we should get rid of both because they can lead to bitterness, brawling, slander and malice. If you have a temper and are quick to anger it leads to rash behavior which is not reflecting the righteous life that God desires for us.

Anger towards another person is not what God expects from us and as Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew we are to love everyone even our enemies and those who we think are persecuting us:

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. - Matthew 5:44-45 – NIV

Next James says that we are to rid ourselves of all moral filth and evil or sin in James 1:21 – NIV Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

When we get rid of the moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent we become humble and accept the word of God that is in us. If you are gratefully humble to the word you will look at things with humility and not be subject to anger.

This in turn saves us.

Ultimately we are instructed to get rid of the filth by listening (Quick to listen) thoughtfully speaking (Slow to speak) and not be hasty (Slow to anger) then ultimately we are willing to hear and obey what the word of God says to do as the next verse tells us.

James 1:21 – NIV

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

It says here that we are not to merely listen to the word of God as outline above. If we only read the words and do not understand them the purpose is defeated.

Many times we reread what we have read moments before or days before and at first we do not understand what the Gospel or scripture is saying to us.

Then when we reread it, we comprehend it.

This is normal and God does not expect you to understand everything you read in the bible. Many times if you pray before reading the bible and ask the spirit of the lord to be with you it can help.

Then and only then can we do what the scripture is saying and are not deceived about God. Listening to the word of God in Sunday services is one thing but to do what it says is another.

We need to put into action what we learn from the bible not just the Ten Commandments but all of the word of God from the Old Testament to the Gospels and the New Testament books for it is all the inspired word of God.

That is one reason why daily bible study and reading of scriptures is so important to Christians so that they can be “In” the word everyday not just on Sunday. Then we will be blessed.

Luke 11:28 – NIV

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

James goes on to explain why it is important to listen to the word of God using an analogy of a man looking at himself in the mirror.

James 1:23-25 – NIV

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Here the analogy tells us that we are to go back to the bible time and time again and study it so that the word is always in us.

When you wake up in the morning and look into the bathroom mirror as you wash your face you may not notice the wild hairs in your nose but when you shave and are looking more intently at yourself in the mirror so you don’t cut yourself shaving you may notice them and trim them. T

he same can be said of women. You wash your face in the morning and you may not notice that you have uneven eyebrows but when you put on your makeup and are looking more intently at yourself in the mirror so you don’t smudge your makeup you may notice the irregularity and pluck them out.

Some of us look at the word in passing or casually and do not act upon it while others look at it closely or intently and in doing so see defects in our lives and act upon them and the word of God to correct them as required.

You wouldn’t wash just your face off and leave dirt on your forehead and so why would you just look at the word of God and not change your ways or habits if you know what you are doing is something that is contradictory to what you just read and not do what is right.

James uses the words listen and listens in these passages but when you read the word of God aren’t you listening as well?

When James wrote this letter it is important to note that only a small percentage of the population in his life time was literate. To learn to read and write you had to be rich and most could not afford that. Reading and writing was a luxury to most people living then and was for the priest and scholars not the working man.

As a result when they heard the word of God from the Old Testament, it was read to them out loud by priest.

When they heard circular letters such as those by Paul, John, James and others it was read to them out loud as well.

In the New Testament times public readings of letters and scripture were expected as Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13 - NIV

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

On the other hand there were those who could quote scripture like we do today not by reading it and memorizing it by looking at the words as we do from our Bibles today but by hearing it read to them over and over again until it was memorized.

Back then they were no bound bibles like we have now in fact there were few churches like we have now as most of them met in peoples homes or hidden in caves to avoid persecution.

It was not until the King James Bible was authorized by King James the first of England in 1604 and printed in 1611 that the bible was translated into English for the first time.

However not many were printed and as a result they were hard to find and it was not affordable to most people. It was not until the 20th century that Bibles were affordable and were printed in mass so that the common man could have one.