By Greg Primm
As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been reading through the book of James lately. This small book is jammed full of practical, every day advice. Last time, I wrote about tough times and how we are to handle them. In this post, things get a little tougher.
Those of you who are regular readers might remember the story I told a while ago about the lessons my daughter and I learned about the difference between merely hearing and actually listening. My conclusion was this:
the big difference between hearing and listening is that when we really listen, when we block out all the distractions and look our junk in the face and do the tough work, we risk finding out that we’re not supposed to do the thing we thought we wanted to do.
So what does this have to do with James?
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. James 4:17
Many of us read the Scripture and God’s message to essentially do two things: love God and love people. Very few people actually put it into practice on a daily basis. Sure, we hear the message. We agree with it in principal. We may even change our actions for a few days. Precious few of us (myself included) actually take the message of Christ and live it out each day.
James tells us that we are actually deceiving ourselves if all we do is hear what the scriptures say. We deceive ourselves by thinking it actually makes a difference merely to read it.
That’s as crazy as when I look at a map but then decide I know a shortcut.
Or what about when I quickly read the instructions on assembling the kid’s toy but then decide I know how to do it without any help?
Funny, right. A little comic relief?
But wait, James doesn’t stop there. His message is that if we know what we’re supposed to do but don’t — we’re not merely wrong, or misguided, or lazy. We’re actually living apart from God’s will. Let that sink in for a minute. . . .
Why don’t we do what the Scriptures tell us? It’s a timeless question. Paul had the same problem:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. . . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:15, 18-20.
I always smile when I read that passage. Why? Cause that’s me! I know exactly what I should do — but I procrastinate, delay, make excuses, rationalize. You name it, I can wriggle out of the things I need to do with a little creative word-smithing.
So what are we left with at the end? Ahh yes, James. I like his writings cause he doesn’t waste words.
Study the Word, Do what it says.
That’s it.
