For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
(James 1:23-25, NLT)
The Browns were shown into the dentist’s office, where Mr. Brown made it clear he was in a big hurry. “No fancy stuff, Doctor,” he ordered. “No gas, no needles, none of that. Just pull the tooth and get it over with.”
The dentist raised his eyebrows. “I wish more of my patients were as tough as you,” he said admiringly. “Now, which tooth is it?”
Mr. Brown turned to his wife and said, “Show him, honey.”
It’s easy to be brave when someone else is in the chair.
That story makes me think about how often we can be bold in giving advice about other people’s trials. I can write or speak about trusting God in hard times, but if I were the one who had lost everything in a disaster, would I still sound so confident? It’s easy to encourage faith and perseverance when the pain belongs to someone else.
It’s also easy to believe that the “treatment” is for someone else. In church, while listening to a sermon, have you ever thought, I hope so-and-so is paying attention, because they really need to hear this? We can be quick to apply God’s Word like a prescription for others, while sidestepping the uncomfortable truth that it might be written for us, too.
James reminds us that God’s Word isn’t meant to be used like a telescope to study other people’s flaws or a magnifying glass to enlarge their mistakes. It’s a mirror, and a mirror is meant for self-examination.
And then James adds that the purpose of looking into the mirror of Scripture is not simply to notice the smudge on our face, but to do something about it. It’s not enough to nod in agreement with the truth — we must let it change us.
Prayer: Father, help me to approach your Word with humility and honesty. Keep me from only applying it to others, and give me the courage to let it shape my own life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day