Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

“Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)

Glancing in the mirror, you noticed something “not quite right.”  But you were distracted just for a moment, and your day began—you forgot what the mirror revealed. When God’s Word speaks to your heart, you ponder the truth but sometimes forget or choose to neglect His message during the busyness of your day.

James writes encouraging Christians to be doers and not just hearers of God’s Word, ridding one’s life of anger or any evil that hinders walking daily with Christ. Remembering what you hear or read from God’s Word is commendable. You heard inspiring messages; the Word spoke to your heart; you were challenged and convicted of sin—wonderful! But how helpful are a stirred heart and a headful of knowledge if you don’t act on them?

James likens “hearers only” to people looking in a mirror. They glance at their face, walk away, and forget what they saw (v. 23–24). But forgetting, ignoring, or pretending what you saw doesn’t change the truth. As a mirror reveals its message when you gaze into it, so God’s Word by the Holy Spirit explains how you should live and what to purge from your life when you open and read it. By meditation and obedience to God’s instructions, you are not just a hearer, but a doer of the Word, and God’s blessings will be yours (v. 25).