Doers of the Word
But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
-James 1:22-25
In recent years I have developed a somewhat masochistic habit. My children keep asking me to coach their soccer teams, and for some reason I keep saying yes.
I do it because I love spending that time with them. I enjoy helping them learn new skills and watching their confidence grow. I also get to know the other kids my son and daughter have befriended at school, which makes me feel a little more connected to the lives they are building outside our home.
Plus, I love soccer.
I played on teams of one kind or another consistently from the time I was four until I was about twenty. I know the game.
But man, is coaching different from playing.
Suddenly I found myself reading coaching manuals, watching videos about how to run drills, subscribing to coaching blogs and social media accounts—anything that might help me figure out how to teach children the game I had spent my entire youth playing.
...But consuming all that information wasn't enough.
Eventually I had to walk onto a field with a dozen kids and do something with what I had learned.
It didn't matter how many coaching videos I watched if I couldn't explain a drill to an eight-year-old. An article about encouraging athletes did nothing for my players unless it changed the way I managed a frustrated child. The information only became useful when it affected my actions.
James says something remarkably similar about Scripture.
“Be doers of the word and not merely hearers.”
Studying Scripture is a means of grace. It can deepen our faith, reshape our understanding of God, and give us wisdom for the lives we are called to lead.
But just knowing Scripture does not make us mature disciples.
Unfortunately, some of the nastiest interactions I have experienced have been with people who could freely quote the Bible. Knowing the words is not the same thing as allowing those words to transform us.
James compares such a person to someone who looks into a mirror, walks away, and immediately forgets what they saw.
Scripture ought to be like a mirror that sticks with us. It reveals things about us. Our selfishness. Our prejudices. Our misplaced priorities. The myriad of truths about ourselves that we would rather not face, all pointing us toward our continued need for grace.
And once it has done that work on us, Scripture gives us its biggest blessing: it calls us to act.
The measure of our growth as disciples is not how many verses we can quote or how many Bible studies we have completed. The better question is what those Scriptures are doing to us.
Is our study changing how we love people?
Is it changing how we forgive?
Is it changing the way we understand ourselves?
Is it changing how we respond to injustice?
Is it changing the way we use our money, our time, and our other resources?
Is it making us more like Christ?
Because the goal was never merely to become people who know the Word.
The goal has always been to become people who live it.
