Doers, Not Hearers Only
July 6
Doers, Not Hearers Only
Matthew (Tolu) Olowoyeye
Founder · The Berean
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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James names a danger peculiar to people who hear a lot of Bible: the deception of mistaking hearing for doing. We can sit under good teaching, nod along, even feel moved, and walk away unchanged, and worse, walk away thinking we have responded, because the feeling of agreement felt like obedience. James is blunt: that is self-deception. The hearer who does not do has not half-obeyed; he has fooled himself.
He goes on with a piercing picture: such a person is like a man who looks in a mirror, sees his face, and immediately forgets what he looks like. The Word shows us ourselves and shows us our God; but if we walk away and do nothing, the image fades by lunchtime, and the morning's reading leaves no mark. The mirror is wasted on the forgetful.
The test of a morning in the Word is never how much you understood or how deeply you felt. It is what you did about it. Truth that is heard and not done quietly hardens the heart against the next truth.
Take Into The Day
Refuse to let today's reading end at hearing. Name one specific thing the Word has shown you to do, and do it before the day is out. Be a doer, and break the spell of mere hearing.
Prayer
Lord, keep me from the deception of hearing without doing. Let Your Word not merely move my feelings but move my feet. Show me one thing to obey today, and give me grace to do it, not just admire it. Amen.
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