James 1:22-25 - Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 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. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
I came into class tonight a little disheveled. I had some make-up streaked under my eye and one side of my blush was way darker than the other. I also had a piece of paper stuck in my hair and a few strands sticking out where they shouldn't be and was wearing two different earrings. As the kids pointed out the things that were wrong with my appearance, I checked them in a mirror I brought. I was appalled at what I saw, but then simply looked away and continued on with class as though nothing were wrong. I didn't change anything. After a few minutes of the kids questioning my appearance, we had them read James 1:22-25. We asked them then how hearing without obeying is like looking in a mirror and forgetting what you look like. We reminded the kids that when we look into the mirror of God’s Word and we learn what God wants us to do or change, we should not simply walk away and forget what we have heard. God's Word tells us what we need to change, what we should do, how we should act, etc... We need to hear it AND do it!
Then we told the kids a story...
Thinking about life, a wise old man gazed at a beautiful garden. As he breathed in the wonderful fragrances and beheld the beauty of the garden, he saw a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. It spent a few seconds on the edge of a rose, then a daisy, and then a sunflower. The garden was a rainbow of fragrance and color, but the butterfly gained no particular benefit from any of the flowers there.
Next the man saw a botanist with a large notebook and an equally large magnifying glass in his hand. As the botanist carefully observed each flower, he filled a great number of pages with his notes. But after hours of meticulous study, most of what he learned was shut up in his notebook and forgotten.
Then the man observed a small bee. The bee enthusiastically entered a flower, was gone from view for a brief moment, and then emerged covered in pollen. It had left the hive that morning empty, but would return full, and in doing so would share his abundance. With that pollen, sweet honey would be made to sustain, not only himself, but the entire hive for the future.
The wise old man thought about what he'd just seen and came to a conclusion. Some people are like butterflies, going from Scripture to Scripture, Bible study to Bible study, church to church, retreat to retreat. They are so very busy, and expend so much energy, but have little to show for their efforts. They remain unchanged in any real or significant way because they never really dug deep into things wholeheartedly. They’re content to simply flutter around the edges.
Others, like the botanist, may study the Scriptures in great depth, but they never apply what they've learned to their lives. Content to study, they have a lot of head knowledge, but their hearts receive very little benefit. Striving for knowledge alone, they are left unchanged by everything they "know".
Our lives would be very different if we could only learn from the bee — visiting each flower, or Scripture, with purpose and passion. To whole-heartedly dive in — to root ourselves in God's truths, to go into every study of God's Word with an open mind about what He has to teach us, determined to walk away fuller than when we began...to do more than simply flutter...to do more that simply take notes...but to take action. And then to joyfully give of our abundance so that others can make something sweeter, something that will sustain not only ourselves, but bless others as well.
We asked the kids then how their lives would be seen by others watching them. Would they be seen as a butterfly, a botanist, or a bee?
Lastly, we watched a clip of The Book of Eli. In it Denzel Washington is on a mission in post-nuclear America to bring the only remaining copy of the Bible somewhere “west.” The clip we used is from the tail-end of the movie and featured a badly wounded Eli walking along the road. Eli is distraught because Carnegie, the movie’s villain, just shot him and stole his Bible. Solara, Eli’s friend, pulls alongside and helps him, giving Eli a ride. By the way, Eli was motivated to give up “the book” a few scenes before because Carnegie held a gun to his friend Solara’s head. I couldn't find a YouTube of this clip, so for you parents, here's what was said:
Solara: I’m sorry.
Eli: For what?
Solara: This. This is all my fault.
Eli: No, it’s not.
Solara: No, it is. If I didn’t come with you none of this would’ve happened.
Eli: It’s not your fault. I did what I had to do.
Solara: I didn’t think anything could make you give up that book. I thought it was too important.
Eli: All the years I’ve been carrying it and reading it every day…I got so caught up with keeping it safe I forgot to live by what I learned from it.
Solara: Yeah, and what’s that?
Eli: Just…do for others more than you do for yourself. That’s what I got from it anyway.
In this scene Eli comes to several realizations. First, saving Solara’s life was more important than holding on to the Bible. Second, after years of reading the Bible he lost track of putting its principles into practice. Third, that he should have been doing more for others than for himself. According to James 1:22, what happens to us when we only listen to the Bible? We deceive ourselves!
According to the next two verses (23-24), what kind of person does James compare to those who listen to the Bible but don’t do what it says? A man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. And in verse 25, what does James say happens to people who listen to the Bible and do what it says to do? They’ll be blessed in all they do!
In conclusion, tonight we looked at the biblical command to be doers of the word, not just hearers of it (or readers of it or memorizers of it). Hearing the Scriptures and studying the Scriptures and memorizing the Scriptures—even preaching the Scriptures—takes effort and energy and will, no doubt. But how much do those efforts really mean if we don’t do what the Bible tells us to do?
We can learn all day long about caring for the poor and memorizing verses that say to freely give to those in need—and even preach the same message to others…but what does it say about our faith if we, knowing all these commands, consistently walk past homeless people begging for food in the street or hold back money from the collection plate that could be shared with orphans and widows? It’s not easy to do what the Bible says, yet carrying out that principle is the essence of our faith. So we asked the kids…where are you? How much of your hearing of the word leads to doing what it says?
