In One Ear and Out the Other

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”  James 1:22-25

A person can hear sermon after sermon, sit under some of the most knowledgeable and spiritually insightful teachers, and spend countless hours diving into the enriching words of scripture, but not apply those principles and instructions to his or her daily life, and then wonder why his or her life is such a mess.  God’s word is not to be just read and then forgotten, as so many folks practice that old “in one ear and out the other”, to not only God’s word, but in many other instances as well.  Of course, these days, many folks don’t even bother to listen to God’s word, much less obey it.  His word is to be studied and acted upon, applying what is learned to our everyday lives.  How else can we know how God expects us to live before Him as we should if we don’t study His word and then obey it?  His word is a “lamp unto (our) feet and a light unto (our) path” (Psalm 119:105).

We should not deceive ourselves by thinking that reading and hearing God’s word is just something to check off our “do gooders” list and then not put what we have heard into action.  What good is hearing God’s word if it doesn’t change us for the better?  Why go the doctor if we are not going to follow his or her advice?  God’s word requires action on the part of His creation.  The Bible is an instruction manual for life, not just to be read for its poetic beauty and historical narrative.  Some classify God’s word as just a book of do’s and don’ts, but life is mostly do’s and don’ts.  That’s what our civil laws are for in order to help us stay safe and secure.  Nutritionists say, “eat this, don’t eat that”.  Of course, what was good for us became what was bad for us, and then became good for us again.  Go figure.  I say, just use common sense, and you will be OK.

James compared one who hears but doesn’t follow through with what he has heard to a man who looks at himself in a mirror.  He walks away and forgets what he looks like.  He sees his outward appearance but can’t see what’s on the inside.  He forgets that he is a sinful creature who needs cleansing.  People spend hours, minutes at a time, in viewing themselves in mirrors.  Some folks can’t pass a mirror or any reflective object without checking themselves out and usually admiring what they see.  Sometimes they don’t like what they see and then make expensive efforts to improve those areas that they deem unpresentable.  There is certainly nothing wrong with the desire to make one’s appearance pleasing to others, but it is the beauty of a person within his or her heart that attracts others, or at least it should be.  Outward appearance is no indicator of what lies within the soul and spirit of a person.  A beautiful exterior can hide one’s true character.  They say that “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone!”  Even the most beautiful person will one day get old and wrinkled and will not be able to rely on their external appearance to carry them along.  If they haven’t paid more attention to what’s on the inside rather than what lies on the outside, they have nothing to sustain them when their beauty fades.

God made a way whereby a person can be sustained throughout a lifetime and not only survive but thrive as one who is known not for his or her looks, but as a kind, dependable, and faithful friend.  This is the person who lives and acts as one who patterns his or her life by the words of scripture, the perfect law of liberty, that shows us just what kind of people we are.  As a mirror shows us our blemishes and flaws, God’s word shows us our sin.  As we try to repair those flaws on our face and body, God’s word shows us how to remedy those sins and shortcomings.  The “perfect law of liberty” is not the law that God brought to Moses and the Hebrew people from Mt. Sinai.  That law cannot save one soul.  It was designed to show man his sinful state and his need for a Savior.  The “perfect law of liberty” is the gospel of Jesus Christ which sets mankind apart from his sin and brings all who repent and believe on Christ into a right relationship with the Lord.  Those who follow the “perfect law of liberty”, the redeemed, are those who will be blessed IN their good deeds, not FOR their good deeds.  No one can earn a blessing by doing good works.  We work because we have been forgiven, not to be forgiven.