James 1:23-24
"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like" (James 1:23-24).
When we stare into a mirror we see a reflection of what we physically look like, but it is only a physical reflection and not a spiritual one which James points to.
That reflection is demonstrated in our application of Scripture which God always sees but those around us may or may not.
James states in his example that this man's look or stare into the mirror is intense. It is not a glance but an intentional act of measurement, yet I wonder how often we intensely stare into our hearts and quantify.
Do we pull back the curtain and let light in to expose the dark nuances of our lives, or do we remain in the shadows where sin quietly destroys?
I believe it is ridiculous commonplace in the church to wear an artificial mask to cover our true self from public shame and ridicule. For if others saw our failures and insecurities, would they disassociate from us?
In truth, our natural face is simply a reflection of our natural heart, but how quickly we forget what our hearts look like when we choose sin over righteousness. In those moments, we forget that our identity is IN Christ, and therefore the reflection of Jesus in the mirror is replaced by self.
Make no mistake, forgetting this truth is thwarting our unity in the body of Christ and allowing secular theology to confuse and displace us as if we were the tower of Babel. The enemy is winning and we are idly standing by and allowing it to happen because we have forgotten our identity as Christ-followers.
Therefore we must not concern ourselves with outward adornment but inward sanctification. Because if we desire to win souls for Christ, we must begin living from the inside-out and unashamed of God's Word, to displace cultural skepticism with authentic application of Scripture.
False perception is an epidemic in the church. It lives in the heart of man and manifests itself through masks we wear publicly, thriving within the crucible of religion. It is deceiving because others get a false sense that we are more righteous than we truly are, while we convince ourselves internally that marginal application of Scripture is acceptable behavior.
This entire section on hearing and doing culminates with a call to persevere. It began with a warning on self-deception followed by an example that we could easily relate to, and now finishes with a vision of reward to those who apply the Word. James affirms us that God's Law, His Word, is perfect.
When we stare into a mirror we see a reflection of what we physically look like, but it is only a physical reflection and not a spiritual one which James points to. That reflection is demonstrated in our application of Scripture which God always sees but those around us may or may not.
No matter how you slice it, application of God's Word is the true mark of a Christ-follower. It is the fruit produced from a spiritual harvest, defining who we are in the midst of a world bent against Christianity. Bottom-line: Application is our call to obedience, not merely knowledge attainment, lest we become Pharisaical.
Just as we must put off unrighteous anger by being quick to listen and slow to speak, James admonishes that all moral sin be eradicated from our lives. It goes without saying that self-recognition of sinful tendencies and patterns is paramount (which requires great humility), for we cannot fix what we do not recognize as the root issues of sin in our lives.
Anger is a prevalent issue for men. Christian counselor, Dr. Gary Rosberg, argues that anger is the predominant emotion men filter their feelings and emotions through. Because men struggle to articulate how they're feeling, anger is the tool of choice to convey how they are feeling even though it may be sadness, frustration, disappointment, etc, that they are actually feeling, not anger.
As much as we struggle with choices on a daily basis, it is beyond comprehension knowing our sins, struggles, insecurities and failures, that without fail, God chose to have a relationship with us. And not just any relationship, but the most intimate relationship we could ever have (more so than with our wives, children, family members or friends).
There is great peace knowing God is full control, sovereign and constant. Those who reject God as creator and eternal judge stake no value in any supreme being for they declare themselves masters of their own fate. And while it is true that due to free-will we choose to accept God for who He is or reject Him, the truth remains for the Christ-follower that God's existence in no way is dependent on man.
It is easy sometimes to blow by a verse of Scripture. It's almost as if the simplicity of truth is so obvious that there is no need to really comment or spend any time reflecting. Verse 16 falls into that category. I almost lumped verses 16-18 together for a devotion but chose to rest on the truth James intended when he stated these 7 powerful words.
I've always felt this passage of Scripture was a tough pill to swallow not because I disagreed with it, but that it placed a mirror before my heart. At the core, no man wants to admit he chose to sin. We would rather say we fell into temptation as if we tripped over a bump in the road, or the devil made us do it, or we were provoked and led astray by someone else (thus blame-shifting).
Of all the truths found in Scripture that people (in general) struggle to understand, this message from James would be near the top of the list. Many of those who reject the Gospel echo mass mis-confusion around this topic. Their opinions primarily grounded in emotions prove only that who they believe God to be is subject to their experiential construct and not absolute truth.
There is a distinct advantage to the Christian faith, one that surpasses secular thinking altogether. It elevates the priority of Scripture and enables a man to reflect upon the blessing James describes as something tangible and worth seeking after. It is counter-cultural, but that is absolutely what James intended to convey when he penned these words.
There comes a point when a man looks back at his life and takes stock of his mortality. In these moments, he acknowledges the plight he has been dealt by God, whether rich or poor, and reflects upon its advantages and disadvantages.
Continuing from verse 5, James admonishes that faith is the prerequisite when asking God for wisdom. Faith is "a settled trust and confidence in God based on His character and promises as revealed in Scripture" (ESV Study Bible). So when we ask God for wisdom but do not fully trust that He can and will answer our request according to His timing and sovereignty, we are unstable in our thinking.
This next section of James 1 continues the theme of our faith being tested in trials with an emphasis on the role of wisdom. To begin, "wisdom, as in the OT, is a God-given and God-centered discernment regarding the practical issues of life" (ESV Study Bible).
James begins this teaching by calling for us believers (the church) to stop, recollect, and literally quantify how faithful the Lord has been in our lives despite the trials we have previously faced. How often do we stop and intentionally remember spiritual markers though?
There is constant friction between the flesh and the Holy Spirit that dwells in the hearts of those who have accepted Christ as personal Savior. The flesh seeks personal satisfaction above all else and will stop at nothing to gain whatever pleases its desires, while the Holy Spirit purposes the sovereign will of God that does not conform to man but convicts and holds man accountable to the standard of Scripture.