Do the Word
It’s not a classical Greek tragedy, but still …
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But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22 (ESV)
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One of the great tragedies in life is whenever we deceive ourselves.
In this verse’s case, deceiving ourselves by thinking that merely hearing the Bible and agreeing with it is the same as obeying it.
Spoiler alert: It’s not the same.
We have a lot of idioms that communicate something similar:
“Actions speak louder than words.”
“Talk is cheap.”
“Words are wind.”
Of course none of those put an emphasis on the enduring truth of Scripture, just that our actions are more important than our promises. Making them half-true.
This verse is a challenge for us.
Not challenging, though at times it is that … but a challenge to be the kind of person who lives a life that honors God by obeying Him with our actions rather than just our words.
I don’t want to discount words, because words are powerful too.
Which is one of the reasons why self-deception is so tragic: the powerful words we use are actually lying to ourselves.
I don’t like lying. And I don’t want to be a man who lies to himself.
So the onus is on me to back up my talk with solid actions.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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