Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says... But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
I grew up with the phrase, "You know what you should have done..." Now, we just joke about that phrase. However, this statement really brings me to the state of my heart: being critical. Instead of what someone else ought to do, what should I be doing.
The Pharisees focused on what one ought to do, they even wrote an entire manuscript about it: the Talmud. The Pharisees would do right, but not always with the right purpose. They failed to do God's law. They failed to be righteous on the inside, despite their outward appearance. They were hypocrites.
When I think of that phrase from my childhood, "You know what you should have done..." I think that phrase is missing the point, just like the Pharisees were missing the point.
Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."
God knows our hearts and desires to affect every aspect of our lives. "His truth gives us direction about loving God and honoring him through forgiving those who have hurt us, reaching out to the lost, serving God, and how to handle our time and money. The word of God...challenges our hearts, our motives, our wallets, and our schedules. In fact, if the truth of God doesn't make a difference in these areas, we really aren't doers of the word at all. We're not even really good listeners."
Therefore, it is imperative that we dive into the word:
observe, interpret, and apply the truth.
Observation: What does the passage say?
Interpretation: What does it mean?
Application: What does it mean in my life?
"Application moves our feet and hands."
This October, I was jumping up and down with a sixth grade girl who just accepted Christ. We talked about what it meant to follow Christ and how to stay strong and persevere. She had always just flipped to a Bible passage and never read a book before. She was so encouraged to find that when you read a book, the context and the concepts help us understand the reality of what it means in our lives. Oh what an awesome moment! A life changed!
By applying God's word, we are strengthened, filled with joy, and continually desire more: more truth, more relationship, more.
James 1:19-27
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I want to be a doer, not just a hearer.
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