Reading: James 1:22-25
“Prove yourselves doers of the Word
and not merely hearers.” James admonishes the readers of his letter (James
1:22). He continues with an
illustration. For if someone is only a hearer and not a doer, James likens him
to a person who looks in a mirror but continues “on with whatever he was doing
without the slightest recollection of what sort of person he saw in the mirror
(vs 24, Phillips).”
Essentially, it is like letting words
go in one ear and out the other. I am reminded of when one of my responsibilities
as a nurse was to orient new staff to their duties in the Operating Room. I
would tell and demonstrate how to do a particular skill. The orientees may nod
that they heard what I said, and continue doing it an incorrect way. I would probably
conclude they weren’t listening. So, how would I know if they actually heard and understood what I told them? I would be able to observe that they
actually could do what I had shown
them. They were now doers and not just hearers.
In the same way, James urges us to
look in the mirror of God’s perfect law and abide by it (that is, do it) – don’t be a forgetful hearer but
an “effectual (be successful in producing a desired result) doer (vs 25, NASB).”
While being an “effectual doer” in
the Operating Room is extremely important for the physical welfare of patients,
what James is warning us about is essential to our spiritual lives… And the
benefit? We will be blessed in what we do (vs 25). I want that, don’t you?
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