Free to Speak, Called to Listen
Free to Speak, Called to Listen
Devotion by Pastor Alexander L Redd
November 15, 2025
For some people, free speech means they’re free to speak their mind, but if others speak theirs, it’s suddenly a scandal. If someone questions them or offers a different view, it suddenly feels like an attack. We see that attitude in conversations, families, and across social media.
Why is it that people demand the right to say whatever they like, but the moment someone disagrees, they feel attacked? Scripture calls us to something higher than winning arguments. It calls us to speak like Jesus.
Apostle James writes, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). That is a radically different picture of “free speech.” In God’s kingdom, our mouths are not weapons of pride, but instruments of grace.
Could you look at Christ Jesus? He spoke the truth boldly, but never exploded in anger. When He stood before Pilate and the religious leaders, He did not explode in rage, even when He was slandered. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23).
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He addressed her sin honestly, but with such dignity that she ran back to her village saying, “Come, see a man…” (John 4:29). Truth and tenderness flowed together in His words.
Free speech for the follower of Christ is not the right to unload on people without consequence. It is the freedom to reflect Jesus with our words: to speak the truth, but also to listen; to stand for what is right, but not to crush those who disagree.
Today, ask the Lord to sanctify your speech. Before you post, comment, or respond, pause and pray: Is what I’m about to say true? Is it kind? Does it sound like something Jesus would say?
You are free to speak. In Christ Jesus, you are even more free: free to speak with love, to listen with humility, and to honor God with every word.
Devotion by Pastor Alexander L Redd
November 15, 2025
For some people, free speech means they’re free to speak their mind, but if others speak theirs, it’s suddenly a scandal. If someone questions them or offers a different view, it suddenly feels like an attack. We see that attitude in conversations, families, and across social media.
Why is it that people demand the right to say whatever they like, but the moment someone disagrees, they feel attacked? Scripture calls us to something higher than winning arguments. It calls us to speak like Jesus.
Apostle James writes, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). That is a radically different picture of “free speech.” In God’s kingdom, our mouths are not weapons of pride, but instruments of grace.
Could you look at Christ Jesus? He spoke the truth boldly, but never exploded in anger. When He stood before Pilate and the religious leaders, He did not explode in rage, even when He was slandered. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23).
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He addressed her sin honestly, but with such dignity that she ran back to her village saying, “Come, see a man…” (John 4:29). Truth and tenderness flowed together in His words.
Free speech for the follower of Christ is not the right to unload on people without consequence. It is the freedom to reflect Jesus with our words: to speak the truth, but also to listen; to stand for what is right, but not to crush those who disagree.
Today, ask the Lord to sanctify your speech. Before you post, comment, or respond, pause and pray: Is what I’m about to say true? Is it kind? Does it sound like something Jesus would say?
You are free to speak. In Christ Jesus, you are even more free: free to speak with love, to listen with humility, and to honor God with every word.
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