Hearers and Doers

James, at the beginning of 1:19 talks to his audience with great affection.  He calls them beloved brothers.  He has a deep affection for the people he is writing to and James knows that many of them have gone through some extremely difficult times.  His heart is for them to come out of their difficult circumstance in a different manner than when they went into it.  Remember 1:4, that our trials would make us perfect (have integrity and virtue), complete and lacking nothing. 

James continues to instruct his audience in one quick and two slows.  Often times we get these round the wrong way and it becomes one slow and two quick’s.  He is saying that we need to use our ears.  Some of us have a hard time using them at all.  However, he is saying that we need to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.  It is easier said than done for a lot of us.  At times, our mouths can get ahead of our brains and we wish we could grab those words spoken and stuff them back in from where they came from.  Not only that but we are told to be slow to become angry.  Some things just push our buttons and our anger rises from within us and it can fly out of our mouths before we know what has happened.  Some versions of the Bible say wrath.   When looking at the meaning of the word in the original language one definition that comes out is “agitation of the soul”.  Our souls are not at peace.  Our wrath or anger comes from deep within and is usually selfish.  Think of a time when you were last mad about something.  What was going through your mind?  Often times it can simply be the fact that we didn’t get our way.  We wanted something and it didn’t happen the way we expected so we let that person have it.    We can get all bent out of shape and if we are not careful pride can get in the way and do more damage.

We used to tell our children that when their buttons were being pushed and they wanted to get mad at that other person that they were to count to 10.  Joshua, being our thinker, told us that that doesn’t work.  I told him count to whatever number it takes to think through your next move.   Sometimes, we as supposedly mature adults are no better than children when it comes to this topic.  Anger can get the better of us and then we have to do some damage control to sort it all out.  Eating humble pie is not a nice experience.

James goes onto say that anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God.  What does righteousness mean?  Man’s condition that is acceptable to God.  It means living in a way that is right in God’s eyes both in thought and in deed.

So how do we do that practically, well look at the next verse.  James tells us to put away all filthiness.  When we look at what that word means it is not attractive at all.  On a recent visit to a farm there was a large pig in its enclosure lying in the muck and it looked very comfortable.  However, for those of us looking on there was no way we were going to climb over the fenced enclosure and join her.  Our clothes would have been ruined beyond measure not to mention the foul smell that came with it.  Filthiness is not attractive and James tells us to get rid of it.  What is filthy in our lives that we need to dispose of?  Have we been rolling around in the muck like the pig and need to take of those dirty “clothes” and throw them away?

Along with filthiness we are to get rid of rampant wickedness.  This is wickedness that just overflows.  I liken it to the story of Lot in the City of Sodom.  In Genesis 13:13 it says that “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord”.  Any of us that know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah will know some of the evil things that took place there.  The wickedness was so intolerable in that place that God destroyed it.  One of the amazing things about this story is in Genesis 19:15ff.  Despite the evil that prevailed in that place Lot was in no rush to leave.  It says in v16 “But he lingered…..” and the angels had to drag him and his family from that place.  This is a warning that we don’t make excuses for our sins and become comfortable with them.  It not only affects us but those closest to us also.  Later in the story of Lot we see how far the sin of Sodom influenced his children. 

So, let us go back to James.  We are to get rid of filthiness and wickedness and we are to have God’s Word implanted in us.  The foul smelling sin of our lives needs to be removed and replaced with God’s Word.  The reason for this is that it saves our soul.  There is life giving words in the Bible.  Psalm 119:11 says “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”.  It is not just enough to get rid of the sin.  We need to replace it with the Word of God.  John 8:32 says “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”.  All of us need that in a world that is compromised by sin.

Let us go back to our friend Lot.  Now Lot was Abraham’s nephew.  I am sure Abraham and Lot had many a conversation during their time together of the things of God.  Stories were a sure way of passing information down the family line.  However, it is amazing that we can hear about the things of God and yet still get it very wrong.  James instructs us in 1:22 that we are to be doers of the Word and not just hearers.  James likens it to a man looking in a mirror and then walking away and forgets what he looks like.  We need to do the same with the Word of God.  We need to use it as a mirror to our lives.  Some of us spend a lot of time in front of the mirror making sure our hair is right and making sure everything else is in its right place before we walk out the door.  However, we are not always enthusiastic in looking in the mirror of God’s Word.  We don’t like to be corrected.  It can rub us the wrong way.  However, God is saying in these verses that we need to be acting upon His Word and it is not enough just to listen.  It is helpful to be asking the practical questions.  How can I be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry today? What do I need to change in order to be a doer and not just a hearer?  Not only do we not want to be deceived by being only hearers but James says there is blessing if we do put God’s Word into practice.  We need to persevere in being doers of the Word.

He commends us in the last verse of chapter 1 that if we think we are religious but our tongues run wild then we need to think again.  However, we will talk about that more when we get to chapter 3.  James says we deceive ourselves and we are wasting our time being religious.   Religion that God deems worthy is one that is active.  It is interesting to note that James says that we are to be mindful of the orphans and widows in James 1:27 and then in Galatians 2:10 James, Peter and John instruct Paul and Barnabas to continue to remember the poor.  There appears to be a theme here with James.   He commends us to put our faith into action.