Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 (NLT)

A co-worker of mine has a favorite saying she uses when coaching people who work in sales or in collections on the phone: “He who speaks first, loses.” Another friend of mine is a therapist and has another favorite saying: “Let silence do the heavy lifting.” Along with this little gem from today’s chapter in James, I find myself being very conscious of what I say and what I don’t say in meetings and gatherings. Along the journey I’ve found myself choosing to say far less in meetings and make sure that what I do say is worth saying.

I can’t think of one angry word, spoken in haste, that I did not regret.

This little command from God’s Message has been my companion since I first read it in high school. In fact, I often find myself uttering it as a prayer when going into a meeting: “God, help me to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.”

An apt prayer to start my day. I participate in a quarterly board meeting this afternoon.