Man In The Mirror

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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 1:22-24

When you look in the mirror what do you see? As you read James 1 you start to see how important it is not to rush through the Bible but to absorb the Word of God and let it penetrate into your life. James tells us that we should not only hear the word but to be a doer of the word. What good is it if we hear the words of life but never put them into practice?

Mirrors are interesting things, sometimes we like them and sometimes we don’t. It usually depends on if we have a good hair day, what our facial complexion is, if we think we look skinny or fat, etc. The one thing a mirror doesn’t do is lie. They show us what we look like no matter how good or bad it is. This is why it is crucial in our spiritual life to take a look in the mirror. It is important for us to do a spiritual inventory and evaluation. We need to ask ourselves, “In what areas have I been a hearer and not a doer?”

Michael Jackson had a hit song called “Man in the Mirror” and part of the lyrics say, “I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways...” It starts with us, we are the ones who need to stop living in hypocrisy. We can complain all we want about other people not changing but if we aren’t willing to start with ourselves who are we to talk? Look into the perfect law, be a doer, be a man or woman who takes an honest look in the spiritual mirror and makes a change.

“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” - James 1:25

Further Reading: James 1