Written by Richelle Thompson
James 1:19-20 (NRSV) You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.
Sure, James was writing to the Jewish Christians in the Diaspora, but he might as well have been sending a missive to parents of teens. The sleepless nights of caring for a baby, the crazed days of chasing a toddler…those we were prepared for. The whiplash emotions of a teenager? Not so much.
Those of us who are in the midst of raising teenagers would do well to heed these words from James: to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slower still to anger. We might find that if we can abide by these words from James, it becomes as if our ears are on a pulley line to our hearts: When we open ears to hear, the heart opens too. It is a good lesson as we move through the parenting of challenging, independent, and precious teens—and an even more important one for our journey of faith.
James calls the early church—and all of us today—to hear what God is saying to us. To be changed and transformed so that we, as children of God, might be brought into nearer relationship with God the Father.
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