Hearing and Doing

I'm not quite sure what prompted these thoughts, but this morning these verses from James popped into my head (yes, this is the KJV, since that's the version I used to memorize verses when I was younger):

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." - James 1:22

It's a rather familiar verse, and I've heard many, many sermons, Sunday school lessons and chapel messages on it. It's one of "those" Bible verses that we can always use for a devotional, because we all know that we're not following it to a certain extent. And I've always heard the application that we need to go out and serve others. Give to the poor. And I think that's an entirely valid application. But shouldn't there be something more?

This verse shouldn't just hit our outward actions. This should hit all of us.

There is a tension in our life between our outward action and our inward thoughts (faith and deeds argument). It's so much easier to take a verse like the one from James and apply it to one of those things - outward actions. But God wants His Word to impact all of us.

What if our entire life - our thoughts, attitudes, actions - showed that we weren't just "hearers" of the Word, but "doers"?

I realized this morning that there are so many things that God has told me in the Word about myself that I only hear. He loves me unconditionally. He wants me to rest in Him. I don't have to earn His favor. I've heard all those things, but I need to do something about them. Those truths should radically affect how I view myself, what I value, how I manage my life.

What have you heard lately that should change your life, inside and out?