Just Do It
May 8th, 2007 by Amanda
I managed to have a quiet time with God this morning. In doing so, I read the first two chapters of James. I nearly laughed at loud when I read verses 3 and 4:
“…you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
These verses are, of course, talking about spiritual maturity. I just had to laugh because of what I posted yesterday. This is a reoccurring theme in my life right now. Evidently, I’m pretty far from being spiritually mature, and God is trying to get my attention.
I don’t like it.
But then, who likes correction? The main thing is that regardless of how I feel, I need to just do it. I’ve heard the truth. I know what I should be doing and how I should be acting. But there’s a world of difference between knowing and doing. And James is clear:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.”
If I believe, but do nothing about it, and don’t seek to change my life to be like Christ, then I am no better than the demons.
Another verse I read this morning was a swift kick in the pants:
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
The way the word “religious” is taken today, no I don’t consider myself religious. But in this biblical context, I do. This verse describes me pretty well. And there are a couple of different interpretations to this verse, and sadly, they all apply to me.
“Does not keep a tight rein on his tongue…” That could be talking about gossip/slander. I’m guilty of that. I actually had to (I wasn’t forced to, I felt the need to do this) apologize to one of the elders at my church because I was complaining about something he did to another church member, when I should have gone directly to him. I’ve often been guilty of gossip. The funny thing is that I often get annoyed at others who gossip. My office at work is across from the copier. And the copier is often used as the “water cooler” where people get together and gossip. It drives me nuts! But then I turn around and gossip too.
It could be referring to being humble rather than spouting off about your “religion” and how devout you are and such. Humble is not a word I would use to describe me. People will often tell me I’m wise and tell me that I’m this incredible Christian woman - and I eat it up. I love it. It validates me. It tells me that I must be somebody worth being because people come to me. That’s pretty prideful - the direct opposite of humility.
Either way, they both end up meaning that my religion is worthless. And that stinks.
Luckily, the Bible also says:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence. 2 Peter 3:9
and:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purigy us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Hallelujah!
Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, third world county, Conservative Cat, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
i love reading james. i studied it with a group in college. it was so relavent to all of us, so much so that we all ended up quoting it to each other for the rest of the year.
Wow, so cool that the Lord’s spoken so much to you in such a short time. You definately have his favor.
I’d say that confirmation bias is a more parsimonious hypothesis. In which case it says good things about you that you’re on the lookout for self-improvement opportunities. I know I don’t do enough of that.
I have done my share of squirming while reading the Bible and hiding from the truth. The sins that cause me the most discomfort, though I know I am forgiven, are not the ones that come as a result of human desires and emotions, but the ones of omission. We are asked to do so many more good things than we are warned against doing. I fall so short of even the minimum, much less the ideal.
Lifewish - You use too many big words!
I get what you’re saying, though.
Maureen - Exactly. Falling short of the minimum. Feels like crud, doesn’t it?
The problem is that my instinctive response is something along the lines of “yeah right”, with a sarcastic eyeball roll for good measure. This, however, would be rude. I use long words in the hope that anyone who would be offended will lose track before they realise what I’m saying…
This is something of a problem for me - when you guys have a lovely cheerful Christian vibe going, I worry that any comment I make will unfairly burst your bubble. Any thoughts on how I can best avoid this?
I, for one, would prefer you just be honest.
You’re not going to burst my bubble any. If you could, it wouldn’t be a very strong one, now would it?
OK, in future I’ll try to be less wordy and more blunt.
***Evil cackle***