Making the Most of Our Gifts

Pastor Efraín Sermons, www.yuma1st.org

Society is saddled with many sources of conflict today. There are differences of opinion on the need for masks, immigration policy, race relations, and human sexuality, just to name a few. Unfortunately, conversations on these topics often devolve into angry confrontations that raise blood pressure more than awareness. As the animosity rises between camps, mutual respect suffers, and we may say or do things that purposefully hurt others. The consequence is a fracturing of our community that makes us vulnerable to manipulation and weakens the church.

In this week’s passage, we reflect on the teachings from James that include a warning against anger. James does not forbid us from having angry feelings – that would be unrealistic. But he encourages us to be “slow to anger,” or you could say he warns us against being quick-tempered. James explicitly tells us that anger dose not produce

God’s righteousness, so we should carefully consider the motivations for our actions. Join us this Sunday as we talk about these lessons from James and how we can apply them to our everyday lives.