The Mirror Test (James 1:22-25)

When I first started to work out, I often left the gym absolutely ragged. I'd punished every muscle in my body with the most intense and grueling exercises I could imagine for myself.

Consequently, I felt that I deserved to refuel my body for the rest of the day.

A large burrito with extra guac? Earned. A chocolate square or maybe half a chocolate bar? Deserved. A second serving of dinner? I think it has lots of protein. Some ice cream after dinner? Well, why not?

The hard work paid off, and I started to gain weight. Finally, I thought, I'm building real muscle.

But a few months later, I had to confront an unpleasant question: if my new exercise program was succeeding, why did it feel like I needed larger pants?

After some further research, I learned that it's easier to eat calories than it is to burn them.

Every morning, the weight scale was giving me accurate information about my health. But even as I received this data, I didn't use it to learn what kind of person I was becoming.

This is the human quirkiness that James diagnoses in our spiritual condition.

 James 1:22-25

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

The Mirror Test

James is a good and caring pastor. Week after week, he's shared with his fellow disciples what Jesus taught, how he lived, and what it looks like to follow his example.

And then he sat back and observed how people responded to the exact same message. And he noticed a pattern: everyone heard the message, but only some put it into practice.

So, what's the difference between the hearers and the doers of God's word?

James says that the primary difference is self-deception.

People who hear God's word but don't put into practice are doing two things at the same time. First, they're satisfying their conscience: I listen to what God has to say. Second, they're satisfying themselves: I do what I want to do.

If we're honest with ourselves, we all do this.

But instead of admitting there's a problem, it's easier to forget that one exists. So, we go about our business with no concern for the whether or not our lives reflect the truth about God.

This is why it's essential that we follow Jesus with friends. By ourselves, our capacity for self-deception is nearly perfect.

It's only when we have a friend like James that we can share our ugly struggles, trust someone enough to hear about our blind spots, and get the encouragement we need to live like Jesus.

By contrast, people who both hear and do God's word are distinctive in two ways.

First, unlike the hearers, they give sustained attention to what God says. They meditate on it until they understand it deeply, consider how to apply it, and persevere in practicing it until it becomes who they are.

Second, they see more than a mirror: they see a pathway to life. Like James, they call God's word "perfect", know that it brings "freedom," and experience blessings from integrating it into how they live.

If the Bible has been used as a tactic to control us, a hammer to beat us down with guilt and shame, or a shield to protect its owners from the difficulties of loving their neighbors, then it's hard to imagine how it could be a gift that unlocks the secret to life.

But James isn't talking like that. His epistle invites us into great joy, sustaining wisdom, and receiving good gifts from God (James 1:2, 5, 17). Instead of earning God's love through religious performance, we're invited to hear God's affirmation that we are always beloved, forgiven, accepted, and valued.

When we pay attention to the Scriptures long enough, this new identity we have in Christ stops being an abstract doctrine and starts to become how we experience ourselves.

But wherever we are in our walk with God, James' words implicitly invite us to test them. He says that if we put God's words into practice that we will be blessed.

So I encourage you to take a few minutes to read through the five chapters of his little book, find one idea that you find attractive, and ask God to help you understand what it means. Then meditate on it, pray about it, and think about one way you could try practicing what James preaches.

Think about it. What might happen if you controlled your tongue, cared for an orphan or a widow, or loved your neighbor as yourself?

The choice is ours: we can be self-deceived, or we can be blessed.

It's not about a guilt-ridden obsession with keeping every rule, but embracing the good design that God gives us for life: to be loved, to love, and to live with wisdom.

---

Want to explore this with your friends? These questions will help you grow closer together as you reflect on what it means to be doers of God's word.

ASK:

• Where in your life are you "checking the scale" (hearing God's Word) but ignoring what it's telling you?

• What makes it easier to forget what God says than to change how you live?

DISCUSS: Read James 1:22-25

• Why does James call God's law 'perfect' and 'freeing'?

• What's your intuitive, unfiltered feeling about God's word?

• What's one command from the Scriptures that feels more like a burden than a gift?

• What are some ways you've experienced the Bible as a pathway to freedom?

DO:

Pick one specific teaching from the book of James that seems life-giving to you. What's the smallest, lowest risk way you could try to put it into practice? Share your plan with a friend, and make a plan to check in on each other.