“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22
Deception is a terrible thing. It’s bad to be deceived by someone else but even worse to deceive yourself. It means that you trick yourself, or lie to yourself, or commit fraud against yourself. Who in the world would do that on purpose? Well, the Bible says that if we hear God’s Word; if we gain knowledge from His Word; if we have our eyes and ears opened to the wisdom that only God gives and we don’t act on it, then we’ve deceived ourselves. We have essentially fooled ourselves into believing that somehow the hearing will bring change. We’ve chosen to hear, but do nothing. Don’t be deceived. It is not the hearing that brings the change. It is not in reading a new book, devotion or blog on marriage! But---it will be the intentional, day-in-day-out attempt to apply God’s Word to your life through obedience, sacrifice and dedication that will bring results.
Most of us know what we should do. Most of us know one thing we could do right now that would help our home, marriage and family. We stand at the crossroads of saying “yes” to God or “no, maybe later”. Essentially, we are saying I’ll be a doer or I’ll just keep lying to myself and waiting on God to change my situation while I do nothing. (Ouch! That was tough--sorry!) So, do you choose to remain the same or to go to the next level with God?
Is there anything that you know about marriage---something you've read or learned about marriage that you should act upon? Can you listen to your spouse better, love more deeply, respond more freely, or be more attentive to their needs (emotional, physical, and spiritual)? Could you be more patient, or more loving? Maybe less hard-headed, or easier to deal with? Could you respond with more grace and mercy? Could you step out and lead with strength or bend your knee and submit more freely?
If there is one thing that God has spoken to you, now is the time to act! If there’s one thing that you already know to do, be a “doer” of that word! Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that you’ll just listen and be better for it. Don’t think next week will be the best time to start. Now is the time! Today is the day! Act while God is dealing with you! What you do today will determine tomorrow, next week, next year and the legacy you leave behind. Yes---it’s that important! Get after it! Get ready! Change will bring a revolution of love, desire and intimacy! Just do it already!
