Read James 1:17-27
James covers a couple of points here. His advice comes in two stages. The first stage is to listen – don’t be so full of yourself that you can’t learn from others.
One of the main barriers to hearing others is our inside tendency to feel that we know best. It’s a kind of pride. It’s funny, really: it doesn’t make sense. It shows up most when people disagree with us. Depending on how they handle it, we might get angry. Anger doesn’t ever help understanding. You’re making noise, and can’t listen to someone else.
James wants you to listen to the word “planted in you”. It’s actually very close. We listen to others, but in particular, we should listen to the word of God. The word shouldn’t have to shout to be heard. We just need to be quiet!
So listening is the first stage. But that’s not enough! James goes on. Don’t just listen to the word; do what it says! (Ja 1:22). You need to act on what you hear. Sometimes we can kid ourselves that we are in tune with God if we have done some religious practice – maybe we’ve read some scripture, or had a quiet time. These aren’t bad things – we should do them! But we can’t leave it there.
If a farmer has studied agriculture, he’ll know about seeds and fertiliser, factors that promote growth, and pests that threaten it. He’ll know about the seasons for planting, weeding and harvest. He might know about storage matters, prices and markets. He could know all these things, but unless he actually plants seed and grows food, he is not really a farmer!
A student can attend lectures and listen to the words of her teacher. She might attend every seminar and tutorial with her friends. But if she doesn’t do something with what she has heard, it won’t stay with her. A student works with the words. She’ll make notes, summarise, ask questions about what she’s learnt and try to fit it into what she already knows. You don’t know anything until you work with it, until you do something with it.
James talks about looking in the mirror. We look in the mirror to see if we’re presentable before we go out. But after just a few minutes, we can look very different! A stressful moment, a gust of wind, a need to put on a mask – these will change how we look on the outside. The mirror is the image of a moment, nothing more. When we encounter God, it needs to be deeper than that.
Of course, we don’t earn our value for God by the things we do in God’s name. We know that it’s through grace that we are saved. But if we simply drink in that powerful feeling, it will not be enough. “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” Yes, it’s precious, but if we leave it as a memory, we will no longer be useful to God.
Verse 25 shows us how it is: we must “look intently” into the perfect law. Yes, study it! Look, and listen. But then continue in it. We learn by doing. We remember by doing. And importantly also, we witness by doing, too.
This is food for God’s world. Do widows and orphans feel they belong? If we’re reaching out and it’s not for our own fragile pride, our actions will bring the Gospel near.
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