Desire Before Doing | James 1:19-27

One of the most quoted verses in James is, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). It’s a rallying cry for obedience, and rightly so. But here’s the danger: if we jump straight to doing without addressing desire, we end up with worthless religion. That’s why James carefully builds his argument — before he ever tells us to “do,” he tells us what we must “be.”


Being Before Doing
James 1:19 begins, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Notice the wording: James doesn’t say “do this,” but “be this.”
This is vital. Christianity is not first about activity, but identity. It is not merely about hands and feet, but about heart and desire. James is not urging us to act religious in order to become Christians. He is reminding us that, because we belong to Christ, we are being made like Him.

The Reformers called this the “great exchange.” My sinful desires are exchanged for God’s holy desires. Because of that transformation, I am not just doing Christian things — I am becoming Christlike.


Quick to Hear
The first mark James lists is to be “quick to hear.” This does not mean simply having good listening skills in daily life. It means being eager and attentive when the Word of God is presented.

The believer is characterized by a hunger for Scripture. He seizes every opportunity to hear the Word preached, read, or discussed. He leans in when truth is taught because he knows it is the very voice of God.

Proverbs reminds us, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Prov. 17:28). But James isn’t simply calling us to appear wise by silence; he is urging us to be genuine listeners to God’s truth.

This means not assuming we know it all, not rushing to our own conclusions, but striving to understand and submit to the Word.


Slow to Speak
Second, James says we are to be “slow to speak.” Again, the context is hearing God’s truth. The danger for James’ original audience was that many were eager to speak on God’s behalf, to become teachers before they had truly submitted to the Word.

Later, in James 3:1, he warns, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” In other words, resist the temptation to spout off your own ideas, to twist truth for your own agenda, or to presume authority that belongs only to God’s Word.

William Perkins cautioned that unbridled speech is a mark of immaturity: “A loose tongue is the index of a loose heart.” A true believer does not rush to promote himself but exercises discretion, bridling the tongue under the Spirit’s control.


Slow to Anger
Finally, James calls us to be “slow to anger.” This isn’t about momentary outbursts of temper; it’s about a deep-seated resentment toward God’s truth. When Scripture confronts us, the unbeliever stiffens his neck, resists correction, and grows bitter.

James warns, “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (v. 20). In other words, resentment toward the truth reveals a heart not ruled by Christ. True faith humbles itself, receives correction, and adjusts life to fit Scripture — not the other way around.

Calvin comments: “The anger here mentioned is that by which men strive with God, when, instead of receiving His Word with meekness, they murmur against Him.”


Putting Away Filthiness
James presses this home in verse 21: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Here James uses the imagery of taking off filthy clothes. Just as Paul says in Ephesians 4:22, “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life,” so James reminds us that hearing the Word requires putting off sin. The word for “filthiness” can even mean “wax in the ear,” a striking image. Sometimes we intentionally (or unintentionally) cover our ears as to not hear the truth.

Instead, we are to receive the Word with meekness — with humility, with teachability, with an openness to be corrected. The Word is not something we go and find; it is something God graciously implants in us, like a seed in soil.


The Implanted Word
James describes the Word as “implanted.” This is a beautiful picture of God’s grace. Just as a seed contains life and, when watered, grows and bears fruit, so the Word implanted in the believer takes root and produces holiness.

But that seed must be nourished. If you merely hear the Word on Sunday and then ignore it all week, it will not take root. If you resist conviction, the soil of your heart grows hard. But when you receive it with meekness, you are watering the seed, allowing it to sprout and bear fruit.

Perkins wrote, “The Word received with faith never returns void, but brings forth fruit in due season.” The Word is powerful enough not only to save us once but to “keep saving” us — that is, to sustain us in perseverance until the end.


Desire First, Then Doing
Notice the order: before James ever says “be doers of the Word,” he says “receive the implanted Word.” Before you act, you must desire. Before your hands obey, your heart must submit. Otherwise, all your religious doing is worthless.

Jesus Himself taught this in Matthew 15:8: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Outward obedience without inward desire is hypocrisy. True religion flows from a heart transformed by the implanted Word.


Conclusion
James shows us that the Christian life begins not with activity but with identity, not with doing but with desiring. A true believer is quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger when confronted with Scripture. He puts away sin, receives the Word with meekness, and allows it to take root and bear fruit.

This is the foundation of all Christian obedience. Without it, our religion is empty. With it, our lives display the righteousness of God.

So let us ask ourselves: Do I desire the truth? Am I eager to listen, humble to receive, willing to be corrected? Do I put off sin so that the Word might take root in me?

Only when desire is rightly ordered will doing follow. And when it does, it will not be worthless religion, but living faith.