But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25
When was the last time you took an honest look at yourself? I know that I have recently looked in the mirror and have criticized my imperfections. I have also looked in the mirror and seen myself as better than I am. Neither the self-deprecating assessment nor the ego-stroking approach are honest.
James stresses the importance of living a Christian life that listens first, then acts.* He suggests, in alignment with the words of Jesus, that action should follow true hearing of God’s word.* Jesus says, “blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).* Blessed here means fulfilled or whole. The blessing of God comes not just from hearing, but from responding to God’s words.* Indeed, Jesus shows us that,
both the gracious initiative of God and the grateful response of human beings are necessary aspects of the gospel.*
What does this have to do with a mirror and an honest look? In the time of James, a mirror was made of hammered and polished metal.* Unlike our mirrors today which offer a crisp view of ourselves, the reflection that came back required close examination in order to get an honest assessment of cleanliness.* This examination is not a quick glance, but an investment of time toward proper living. To hear God’s word and then do nothing is like a careful examination of one’s self that results in finding dirt but then doing nothing about it.*
Scholars believe that James refers to seeing oneself as either how one truly is (sinful), or how one truly is (made in the image of God and intended to be).* Regardless, God’s word does both. It serves as a reminder of who God intends for us to be while honestly sharing with us our shortcomings.* To see this and do nothing is nonsensical.
George Stulac tells us that this passage gives us the map of how to allow God’s Word to order our lives:
Looks intently. We will search the Scriptures. We can go beyond a superficial devotional reading. We will bother to learn sound principles of inductive study so that we can dig deeply into the word and feed ourselves from Scripture.
Continues. We will stay in Scripture. We can learn to be regular and habitual, rather than occasional, in our Bible study.
Not forgetting. We will learn Scripture. We can study it so as to know its content and to remember it in our daily lives. Memorizing Scripture passages is an excellent discipline for the practice of this third step.
But doing. We will apply Scripture. We can afford to leave our mirrors behind because our reflections are useless. But Scripture is another matter. We need it in our daily lives. We will take Scripture into our thinking, submit our minds to it and formulate our beliefs by what it says. We will make decisions by Scripture—about how we will respond to trials, what goals we will pursue, how we will spend time and money, how we will use our tongues. We will dare to live by the word of God.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to allow His Word to give you a proper assessment of yourself. Perhaps today there is some area of your life that God would like you to shift from hearer to doer of His Word. Maybe today God wants you to allow His Word to frame and inform your entire life, even the parts that you don’t want to see in the mirror. Maybe today God wants you to allow His Word to go from head-knowledge to heart-transformation. Perhaps today God wants you to see that the wholeness you are searching for comes from responding to His invitation of love and living.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 89-93). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 226-227). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 1:22–25). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 117-121). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (pp. 94). Zondervan Publishing House.