Deceiving Ourselves: Application

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

-James 1:22-25 (King James Version)

Yesterday, I started a "mini series" on the topic of deceiving ourselves. We can deceive ourselves into believing that the sky is not blue, but rather red. Yesterday, we saw that we can be deceived into thinking we have no sin, when Scripture teaches otherwise. Today, I want us to focus on how we deceive ourselves into thinking that merely hearing the Word of God is enough.

James writes, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." We see here, clearly, that if we merely listen to the Word of God, we are deceiving our selves. We must do what the Word teaches, we must put it into practice. Anything less won't cut it. In verses 23-24, James puts this idea into practical application. "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." James teaches that being a hearer only is like someone who looks in a mirror, sees how they appear, and goes away forgetting what they look like. In other words, the person who is a hearer of the Word of God only doesn't realize their true character. The person who carefully looks in the mirror before leaving the house each day is not likely to leave wearing their underpants on the outside of their pants. Or they wouldn't leave with their hair frizzed out. Why? Because they took time to examine themselves, they saw what needed to be changed about their appearance, and then fixed it. The person who looks in a mirror, and sees that their underpants are on the outside of their pants, and does nothing about it is just a hearer, they don't apply it.

We must be doers of God's Word. The Word of God is like a mirror where you and I can see our true character. Sometimes the Word points out ways we are failing, and that's a tough pill to swallow. But we'll never grow into the men and women that God wants us to be if we just hear His Word, and never apply it to our lives. What has God revealed about your life that you've not applied? Think About It.