James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
The exasperated mother said to her pre-teen daughter as she saw her words fall on deaf ears, “How many times have I told you to clean your room?” The mother left the room, mumbling to herself as she walked down the hallway, “When will what I say become important enough to her to do what I say?”
Do you govern your life like the teen above? I wonder how many times we have heard God speak in His Word and we ignore it? We know what is right but obey only what we want. We only obey when we want. It is obedience by convenience. Our focus verse, James 1:22 states, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
It is interesting to note that we deceive ourselves by hearing and not doing. Deceiving ourselves does not mean we are deceiving God. Are you a hearer AND a doer?