Becoming a Doer
James 1:22-25 (Listen)22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
I need to confess something. This has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks. I’ve realized, especially lately, that I care more about knowing what the Bible says than putting it into practice. I’ve made theology an idol.
The last few years of my life have been spent searching the Scriptures to know what they say about everything. I’ve always considered being a Christian similar to being a politician. Hear me out. If you asked a politician how they felt about abortion and didn’t get a response, wouldn’t they lose credibility? The same goes for Christians. If someone asks me how to get to heaven, or if they need to be baptized, or if homosexuality is a sin, I better have an answer. We need to be able to defend our faith.
But, what good is knowing what the Bible says about something if we don’t put it into practice? I’m like the man who looks in the mirror and walks away forgetting what I look like. In my small group this past week, we talked about being reflections of Christ to people around us. But, once I close my Bible, I forget what Christ looks like. I forget how he acts. We’ve made a cliche out of the question, “What would Jesus do?” but it’s such a great question to ask ourselves in every situation. I can easily tell a person what the Bible says about something. But, if they don’t see it in my actions, I’m merely a hypocrite and no different that the lost person. Why would they want to be a Christian if the only Christians they know don’t practice what they preach?
I’m going to spend a lot of time in James. I won’t say I’m going to do an in-depth, word-for-word study of the book. I’m not going to give myself a time frame. I don’t want to make any empty promises. But, what better book to dive into than the one that talks the most about putting our faith into practice?