James 1:22-25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
What do you see in the mirror? It if is a true mirror, you see yourself with an unvarnished truth. You may have known people like that, who aren’t cruel but brutal in their honesty. God’s law uncovers us in exactly that way. His perfect standard shows us not only how we are to act around others but even how a truly righteous person thinks and loves. It shows us just how much we’ve twisted away from that lovely perfection into perversion and ruin.
What do you do with that truth? If you are a hearer of God’s word and not someone actively seeking to put it into practice you are like the man who has forgotten. You can pretend that the pimples and ingrown hairs and briar patches for eyebrows aren’t there, but everyone else sees them! How much worse when a blemish really describes sin which leads to death. Take God’s dire warnings to heart and pursue change today.
Prayer prompt: Lord, show me a specific sin to work on today and guide me to a brother or sister who can help.