The other day I was watching a show on television. The mother had given her son a chore that needed to be done. Quite a while later the mother noticed it still wasn’t done so she repeated the instruction.
The son answered, “I heard you the first time, I’ll get around to it”.
Oh my!
That attitude is so pervasive in our society, infecting adults as well as teens. “I’ll get around to it”. It’s not a new issue, the apostle James dealt with it in the first century with the Christians of his day.
“17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. 20 Anger does not help you live the way God wants. 21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.
22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.
26 You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless. 27 The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.” James 1:17-27 ERV
This morning blog isn’t meant to be a thought that will inspire or encourage; it’s about DOING what we have already been taught. We should never stop learning, never stop receiving good teaching but it’s imperative that we LIVE what we hear.
What is one thing that you know the Lord wants you to do and you’ve been putting it off? For me it’s the instruction in verse 19 above. Be a better listener and slower to speak.
That’s part of the Heart to Heart Connection I was talking about yesterday. Listening to others, listening to the Lord.
Be a ready listener and then follow through and be a doer!
I love how your blog makes reference 2 things n daily life we can put 2 use and share with others bless you 4 sharing daily.
Roxanne thank you for your words. It is my purpose to make sure we know that the Lord wants to be involved in our daily lives in common ways. He’s always there!