James 1: 22- 25 “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.”
Folks in the American West can generally size up someone quickly. If a fellow claiming to be a rancher shows up and talks big but doesn’t live up to the things he says, his neighbors are likely to describe him as one of those guys who is “all hat and no cattle.” The guy looks and sounds impressive – like somebody wearing a big ten gallon cowboy hat. But at the end of the day, the fellow is a phony with nothing to show for himself.
The way the Apostle James writes, he could have been a rancher in Wyoming. By the time James wrote this epistle, he had lived a long life and had observed many of the Roman and Jewish politicians as they postured and preened before the public. James had also watched a number of people who claimed to be Christians. And one specimen James had noticed repeatedly was the man – or woman – who would sit in church and listen as if he or she was the most sincere believer ever. But once church was over, such people would walk out with unchanged hearts.
Today we have a lot of people who are mouthing slogans and accusing others of insensitivity. But the question is this: when someone quits talking, what do they do? Do they actually go on and help people, or do they just spread more bitterness and discontent? Where is the fruit? What kind of fruit is it?
Jesus also warned his hearers about the need to walk the walk and not just to talk the talk. Matthew 7:21- 23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ “
Today, what kind of a believer are you? Are you just going through the motions or are you truly a doer of the Word? Are you truly following Jesus and doing the will of your heavenly Father, or are you following someone different? Are you “all hat and no cattle?”
PRAYER: Father God, forgive us for being phonies! Forgive us for talking big and not following through. Help us to truly love you, to truly serve you, and to truly follow you all the days of our lives. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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