Readers Vs. Doers of the Word
I love how the Bible is baked in so many layers like a piece of baklava. Peel back one crispy, honey-laced sheet and you find another rich with substance, like a smattering of yummy nuts layered on that yummy pastry. In Luke 11:28 for instance, Jesus states that those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed. But He makes a subtle inference. About what? Readers vs. doers of the word.
Are you more inclined to reading or doing? James 1:22 lays it out point-blank. “But be doers of the word and not hearers only…” We’ll unpack more of that verse later. But first, let’s look at what it means to solely amass knowledge. And consider the consequences of failing to apply what we learn.
Filling Up The Gas Tank and Never Driving Anywhere
On Sunday mornings in church, I eagerly wait for my infusion of premium fuel. I really do! Worshiping with God’s people, hearing the teaching, and loving on my brothers and sisters is what God wired me to do. It energizes me and makes me feel complete.
When I’m in church, I furiously write down things that occur to me about my own life. I scribble down goals and things I want to accomplish. Fastidiously, I reflect on the day’s teaching in the margins of the message notes paper.
I wish I could tell you that every single time I do that, I am systematically obliterating all my shortcomings. But, well, that’s not exactly true. To say that I perpetually tackle and conquer whatever doesn’t line up with God’s desires for my life would be a big fat lie. Sometimes I fill up my tank and end up using all that fuel to arrive at my desired point of change. And sometimes my will stalls out. And I never even get out of the garage with my full tank.
Neglecting To Refuel
Naturally, there are times when our “vehicles” peter out due to an empty tank without realizing it. Maybe we skip a morning quiet time or two. Suddenly, life deals some heavy blows. Our spiritual bank account is overdrawn. Then, we are left scrambling to make a deposit. Fortunately, God’s “currency” is plentiful and without end. But we must put the time in. Our cars don’t fuel themselves. We can’t give out to others what we aren’t continually replenishing in ourselves.
Have you ever been a caregiver? As the mother of a severely autistic child, I know first hands the burden of giving over so completely to another that you lose yourself in the process. Special needs moms have a hard time finding the ability to spend uninterrupted time in the Word. And all moms, especially mothers of young children, may fight for time to even take a shower.
In the same way, so must all Christians battle distractions and over-scheduling to block out time with God. Otherwise, our tank will run out of gas completely and we’re of no use to anyone.
I would love to have been a fly on the wall the day Jesus spoke to a crowd about hearing the word of God and keeping it. Moments before He uttered these words, a woman in the assembly yelled out “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” Did she do it for attention? Was she imagining how proud His mother must have been? Actually, the motive is immaterial because Jesus turned the idea of blessing on a dime. He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Blessing cannot be earned or attained on anyone’s coattails, Jesus reminds us. It can only be bestowed by God.
I looked up the word rather and defined, it refers to a person’s preference in a particular matter. I believe Jesus made an important distinction in this verse. He implied a greater blessing comes from hearing the word of God and keeping it than nurturing Jesus as a child brought forth. This is particularly noteworthy in a Hebrew culture where parentage could make or break your “Jewishness.” (If your birth mother was not Jewish, that excluded you from the tribe of Israel.) Another beautiful aspect of this verse is that it actually honors His “doer” mother Mary. She, too, heard the word of God (through Gabriel) as a young girl and firmly obeyed and kept it at great cost to herself.
Exploring The Art of Doing
I obsessed about service a bit when I was younger in a naive way. When I was about 10, I remember sitting in the classroom at my Christian day school. In the nearby gymnasium, I heard the ladies church group singing a vintage hymn. Based on Isaiah 6:8, the hymn’s lyrics include the phrase “Here am I, send me.” The hymn’s words “who will go and work today? Fields are ripe and harvests waiting who will bear the sheaves away?” struck me like lightning. Why weren’t the ladies jumping out of their chairs in response? Let’s get going, I thought to myself. I was ready to hop up and lead the charge. (Of course, I might have been in math class at the time so don’t pin a halo on me or anything.)
Naturally, many of the women in the room toiled long hours in the altar guild closet virtually unseen by everyone but God. Of course, I knew nothing of their deeds or lack thereof. But how many times have I listened to a message and failed to apply what I learned? Plenty. For every time I leaped out of my chair, multiple other instances found me sitting on my hands.
So…how do we find the balance between preparation and execution? As in any situation where we need clarity and focus, we can look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Biblical Study and Service Balance Pointers
Earnest Christ-followers likely intend to hear the word of God and keep it. It’s the follow-through that sometimes trips them – and us – up. We all know people who spend hours studying the word as forest and somehow neglect to find the trees. They are oh so busy engaging in the theater of doing. Serving and doing is like a costume they adorn. Between acts, they somehow miss the connection between what they know and what they are poised to do if they apply it.
They just somehow think studying the word checks a compulsory box on their spiritual report card. Their lack of engagement hinders them from serving the Lord with gladness. That’s the kind of legalism that trips up overachievers serving for all the wrong reasons.
In James 1:22-29, we read that a man who hears and does not do the word is like a man who stares at his face in the mirror, walks away, and immediately forgets what he looks like.
That man only fools himself and possibly others.
Because God will not be mocked as we are told in Galatians 6:7. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that man looks at the outward appearance. But we know the Lord looks at the heart. Theatrical performances may create admirable earthly impressions. But they do nothing to enrich a relationship with God. Or grow our character even one iota.
Fortunately, James doesn’t leave us dangling on the precipice of failure. He paints a beautiful picture of a doer for us to emulate. “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty and perseverance, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in the doing.” The law of liberty frees us through redemption to press on in service from a deeply authentic position of servitude in complete deference to our Almighty God.
Friend, you may be like me. I want to literally take a knee and defer to the Lord our God, our Maker. Let’s ask Him to transform knowledge into action. And to give us a good kick in the pants when tempted to sit on our hands. Let’s thank Him in advance for what He will do through us when we make ourselves authentically available for service with a pure heart free of motive and artifice.
Join Christian encourager/blogger/author Cindy LaFavre Yorks as she sojourns alongside you in your faith walk. Partner with her as she shares her travel tips for navigating life’s most challenging detours. Through personal storytelling and Bible application, Cindy cheers you on as you raise your white flag and deepen your trust in Him to develop an unshakeable faith to help you go the distance.
