Walk the Line More Than You Talk the Line

James 1:19-27

English Standard Version (ESV)

Hearing and Doing the Word

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 withmeekness the implanted word, which is able to 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.
²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.


In James 1:19-27, James tells us to, "...be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James is telling us that when we act without thinking, we act in anger and anger is not honoring to God. So he tells us to put away anything that will cause wickedness in our souls so that it does not defile ourselves. In order to be quick to hear, we must always be prepared and ready to hear the word. When we are prepared to take in and listen, we will be more ready to allow it to set in our hearts so that we will be doers of the word.

James goes on to speak about be not only those who hear the word, but be ones who do as the word commands. He compares hearers of the word as a man who looks in the mirror and intently studies himself. Then as soon as he leaves the mirror he forgets what he looks like. But the one who hears the word and does what it says will be blessed in doing so.

When we think we can be only hearers, we have been deceived by our own religion. But when we take the time to slow down and do what is said in the word God will be glorified. James closes this chapter by saying that for us to be doers we must show love. Love for the orphans and for the widows. We must keep ourselves unstained from the world.