Personal Hygiene

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." James 1:22-24

This week in youth group we studied the idea of being doers of the word and not merely hearers. As I was thinking of a good introduction to the topic, I came up with the idea of comparing the way we treat God's word and our faith, with how we treat our personal hygiene. What if we treated them the same? Here's what I mean:

What if I just thought about and understood why I use the personal hygiene products that I use, but never actually used them? What if I merely did research on my shampoo, but never actually applied it to my scalp? Do I really need to put on deodorant? Nah, that would be too much effort. Showering just makes me feel uncomfortable, and I don't feel like doing it today.

Even though this example is extreme, it is not far from the way we interpret the word of God. Check out this quote from Mark Dever in his book PROMISES KEPT (this is a commentary on the New Testament). Dever states "It is easy to deceive ourselves. It is easy to sit and listen to a sermon or read a Christian book and think that because you have understood something the preacher says, you have moved closer to God. Certainly, understanding something the Bible says is good. Yet hearing and understanding something the Bible says but not making sure that it translates into how you live is quite dangerous. I fear that many religious people in churches have a toxic buildup of religious knowledge that is not lived out. James becomes a terrifying book when we consider all the hearers who have not become doers, especially if that includes you."

Wow! When I read that quote for the first time, it really challenged me. Am I just a hearer of the word? Do I think that just attending a church service, or spending time reading God's word is all I need? I'm deceiving myself. If I'm just a hearer of the word and not a doer, what is the point? James later talks about how faith without works is dead! Don't hear me say that you need works to save you, that is a lie. We are saved by grace alone, and faith alone. However, the EVIDENCE of faith is WORKS. If we are not living out our faith, is it real? When we were called out of darkness, we were called to repentance. We were called to a new life. We were made new in Christ, therefore according to Eph. 4:22-23 "that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind."

The Christian life is not supposed to be lived passively. It is not a call to fire insurance or a get out of hell free card. It is a call to action. It is a call to repentance. We are to show our faith in God by our works. Let's be doers of the word!