Scripture:
James 1:19-25 ESV
[19] Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. [21] Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which can save your souls. [22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] 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. [24] For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [25] 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.
Observation:
I honestly feel like there are 2 SOAPs, but I could not make up my mind as to which one to put out so you get both. I love the book of James he was the half-brother to Jesus and didn’t come to faith until after Jesus had risen from the grave. Of course, that’s my understanding, so I reserve the right to be wrong about that. Ok, so let’s look at the scripture. James was giving instructions as to what it truly looks like to be a follower of the risen king. Right out the gate in his book, he tells us that we are going to go through it and we have to keep our emotions in check by telling us to count it all joy when life is rough. Because it’s part of what GOD will use to complete our faith. He goes on to tell us the “the devil made me do it”, excuse doesn’t work. Telling us that temptation comes from us and our heart’s desires. All that brings us to the scripture we are starting with. I can make these verses really short and clear. GOD gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth. James wants his readers to slow down before they react. Taking the time to listen and giving instructions to the fact that our anger has never done anything good for us. Now, to the parallel SOAP. The reason I love the book of James is that he doesn’t hold back. If you have a question about what it looks like to follow Jesus, read this short book, and you will know. My suggestion is that you don’t just read it, though. James is clear that GOD’S word has life-changing power if you put it into practice. He explains the purpose of GOD’S law it was given to us so that we could see who we are left to ourselves. It’s a reflection of sin. Even Paul said, “How would I know not to covet if the law had not told me not to.” But what good is it to know what GOD wants and not do it? It’s like looking in the mirror and forgetting what you look like. Yes, GOD’S law is perfect, and we are not. That is no reason not to make some kind of effort.
Application:
I know the observation has covered some of the application process. I am a firm believer that GOD’S word applies to our lives. I see that there are 2 ways to approach how you look at it. We can look at HIS holy word as a way to justify our behavior… for example, when we use it to excuse our sin rather than modify our behavior. If that’s our approach, we are wrong. GOD’S word holds life-changing power if we allow ourselves the opportunity to let it change our hearts. The one thing I noticed is that when I started trying to live as though the word of GOD is truth, my life got substantial better over time. Putting into practice the principles that are held in the living word. Such as taking the time to listen before I react. Setting my emotions aside long enough to allow someone to speak me, in fact, means I don’t have to react. Reacting with emotions will seemingly always lead me to the wrong place. The difference between action and reaction is that action is done with prayerful consideration, and the reaction is generally done from emotions, and honestly, my emotions will lead me astray the heart is wicked and who can know its ways? Our anger is not a reflection of GOD’S love. It’s a reflection of our flesh. My question for you today is… what good is knowledge without wisdom? That bible tells me that knowledge puffs up… but wisdom builds up. So let me explain the difference real fast, and I will close in prayer. Knowledge is the knowing of information. Wisdom is knowing when and where to apply that knowledge. Knowing the work is awesome and a great place to start. But if you don’t know how to apply that word, then you are only a resounding cymbal, just making noise. It’s in the application of GOD’S living word that it comes to life in you. My suggestion is that we learn how to apply GOD’sword to our lives, getting ourselves out of the way.
Prayer:
Father, we see you inside your instruction manual. Help us to apply the wealth of knowledge within its pages. We want our lives to reflect you. The fact that you have changed us. You tell us that if any man is I. Christ, he is a new creation. The flesh has been put to death, and a new man stands right there. We want that new man to be the one who leads our lives. Help us to put your living word into action in our lives. Let the words jump of the page and plant themselves firmly into the soil of our hearts. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray amen