Self-Delusion
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (ESV)
So you go along to church, sing the songs, hear the sermons, enjoy the coffee and fellowship afterwards, and then you leave with that “holier-than-thou” glow in your heart. But Monday morning, you go to work and rip someone’s head off because they annoyed you. Why is that?
Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be judgemental. But come on … sometimes we listen to what God has to say, nod sagely in agreement, and then go out and do the exact opposite.
Why? Because we all have entrenched behaviours of sin. Because the way you’re wired and the experiences you’ve had over the years are different to mine. Our entrenched, go-to patterns of sin are probably different too, but we all have them.
And the danger is that we grow accustomed to the gap between our faith and our actions – we rationalise it away, we make excuses, we settle for those excuses and then just toddle off on our merry little way, happy that we’ve resolved the conflict between our doxis and praxis, our belief and actions.
All the while God watches on from Heaven’s balcony, shaking His head, feeling the pain in His heart (because He knows our sin is going to have consequences) and working to set us free from our sin.
Which, after all, is why Jesus came to this earth, suffered and died for the likes of thee and me, and rose again to give us a new life.
So, what’s the answer?
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (ESV)
We can’t believe one thing and do another. We can’t worship the God who is love and belittle other people. We just can’t. Eventually, something has to give. Eventually, God will step in, so …
Stop deceiving yourself. Be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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