Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
The human mind contains an incredible array of built-in abilities. One of those abilities is being able to recognize faces.
Faces are especially interesting. A person’s eyes are incredibly unique and able to convey hundreds (maybe thousands!) of expressions. The rest of our face frames the eyes and adds more information to our expressions.
The eyes have been called the window of the soul. Matthew 6: 23-24 says,
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
When we look into a mirror, we look into our own eyes. We see our unique eyebrows, our nose, and mouth, our ears, and chin. To walk away and forget all that …? What then? When we see our reflection do we wonder who we are looking at? James says that the person who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a person who does just that.
Application: Think about how you respond to God’s word. Do you merely listen and then walk away unchanged? Or are you quick to listen and listening to God’s spirit within you as well?
Food for Thought: What would the world be like if everyone forgot what they were looking at as soon as they walked away?
If everyone had that little focus, nothing would get accomplished. We’d all drift aimlessly through life.
Well said, Rob.
That is a great description of what happens when we “listen” to God’s word but do not do what it says.
I agree with Rob. Not only would it be aimless, we would not be able to grow spiritually or emotionally. If we forget areas that we see we need to improve or change, then we won’t change. In regards to God’s word, if through it the Holy Spirit reveals something that needs to change but we instantly move on without giving it a second thought, then we become spiritually deaf.
Rich,
Great points! Being “spiritually deaf” to God’s Spirit is not a good place to be for anyone.