“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)
I got into this habit a while back of downloading task-list software from the Internet. It was an excellent way to avoid actual work. It felt productive; I was cataloging all the important things I had to do. I was building a system. I was making a fresh start.
But there was a problem. After going through the little ritual of typing in a “to do” and categorizing it and putting it in context, I got this little buzz of satisfaction. “There it is! I know exactly what I must do. It is captured!” I felt proud of myself for being so organized as to have this sophisticated list-making knowledge.
And then I didn’t do anything else. Why? Because I already got the completion buzz from just adding the task to the list. It felt “done” even though I didn’t do anything. James noticed we have the exact same problem with the Bible. We feel great because we take time to listen to God’s Word – so great that we sometimes don’t worry about actually doing anything about it.
Think: Ever feel so satisfied with yourself for having devotions or going to church that you skip actually doing what God’s tells us to? Yeah, me too.
Pray: Ask God to help to be both a listener to and a do-er of His Word.
Do: Find a way to “do” something today you’ve heard in the Word recently.