Right off the bat, I need to confess that when it comes to obeying God's word, I am a hypocrite. Let me say that again. My name is Margaret, and I am a hypocrite.
James writes in chapter 1, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (vs 11). I want to be a hearer and doer of God's word, but all too often I hear the word and don't do what it says.
I'll study a passage on prayer, and then not bother to talk to God all day.
I'll watch a teaching on God's kindness and then rudely hang up on the telemarketer.
I'll go to church, listen to a sermon on grace and patience, and then pull out of the church parking lot and whisper bitter somethings toward the driver who just cut me off.
I struggle to be a hearer and doer of God's word.
I think if we're honest, we all do. In our modern context, when we encounter the words, "hear" and "do," we think about them as separate entities. But for the Jewish believers that James was writing to, they understood the call to hear and do differently. In Hebrew the command to hear is the word "shema." And this suggests more than auditory intake or perceiving a sound.
"Shema" encompasses the idea of attentiveness, taking heed, responding with action. If you only listen to something and don't do something with it, then you didn't really hear it. In God's Kingdom, hearing and doing are besties. They are a match made in heaven.
When Jesus was asked, "What's the greatest commandment?" He cites a portion of scripture that Jewish people pray daily, known as the "shema." He begins, "Hear, o Israel." In other words, "shema" o Israel, be attentive. Take heed. Respond with action.
This kind of hearing that James and Jesus call us to is more than just vibrations passing through an ear canal. James and Jesus are inviting us to an unhindered receptivity and responsiveness to the wondrous word of God that shapes us and shifts us, that frees us and fortifies us, that challenges us and changes us.
So James encourages, "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." ~ Margaret
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James wants us to know that what we do matters! This study is for all of us who need to be reminded that we can know all of the Scriptures, but faith without works is dead. We hope you'll join us for James: What You Do Matters as we uncover the deep riches of one of the Bible's greatest calls to godly living. ~ Team FaithGateway
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