During my personal study time right now I’m reading through Psalms and James (I know it’s an odd mix of Scripture). I was reading in James 1 this morning and I was struck by the following passage which is so pertinent to the culture we live in today.
James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
I believe one of the most obvious challenges in contemporary Christianity is we mistakenly assume that information automatically translates into transformation. However knowing something is true does not in and of itself ensure that the truth will make a significant difference in our lives.
We have more access to great information than ever before.
-Unbelievable Bible study tools available on the internet for stinking free.
-Phenomenal messages from the worlds’ best pastors one click away, thanks to podcasts.
-In-depth and engaging bible studies adorning the shelves of bookstores all across America.
So what’s the problem?
So here’s my two cents. In order to “stoop down” you have to “slow down.” There’s not a crisis of information, but of transformation. And the greatest enemy of transformation in my personal opinion, in a word, is hurry.
So slow down, stoop into God’s Word, actually do what it says, and see if the transformation doesn’t follow.
I love the comment that “Solitude became the furnace of my own transformation”. I cannot remember where I read that right now, but I think we avoid true solitude and quiet because it makes us uneasy. We distract ourselves with TV, computers, music, etc. We are rarely still and quiet before God. How can we be transformed if we’re never listening?
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..What I’m Thinking as I Visit Your Church =-.
Pete, the single most transforming time of my Christian life was, just as you said, when God slowed me down. I was playing backyard baseball with my two youngest kids, tore a leg muscle, and ended up off work and in bed for a full month till it healed. By day two I was “stir crazy,” and decided to use that time to learn what the Bible really meant when it said “love your neighbor as yourself.” So I just leafed through my whole Bible, scanning (too quickly) for verses (and still spotted 600, which later grew to over 3000.) Those verses transformed my whole Christian life (attitudes, activities, giving, even politics). But I’d never have found them if God hadn’t put a firm hand on me and said “Stop for awhile. Listen to what I want to teach you.”
I totally agree that information doesn’t always mean transformation. In Bible college I have taken missionary courses but that doesn’t make me a missionary. I have even lived in another country on an internship and I still don’t consider myself one. I think it comes through time. Being a cross-culture missionary is a lot like being holy in that we probably never call ourselves either.
We realize that it takes time to become seasoned at either but we never fully arrive. But we will never experience holiness unless we slow down and take the time to apply God’s word in our life.
.-= David Knapp´s last blog ..How To Have Lasting Happiness =-.
Dead on observation there. Too many times we know what it says but we just do not do it.
Thanks for sharing!
.-= Jim F.´s last blog ..Rick Warren on Meet the Press =-.
I think this is your best post. Loved it.
And on a completely unrelated note … I live in Houston (went to grad school at Vandy though). Wanted, wanted, wanted the Texans to draft Vince Young…the hometown hero. They did not and I became a Titans fan through and through. And Vince is rockin’ the house these days!!!!
Like I said … it was unrelated.
.-= Darla Baerg´s last blog ..Thanksgiving 2009 =-.
@Darla, if you live in Nashville your comment is not unrelated. Everything in Nashville somehow relates to Vince Young right now.
.-= Pete Wilson´s last blog ..Information Does Not Equate To Transformation =-.
Thanks, Pete, for finding the ‘nugget’ in this scripture. We tend to want to gloss over this – ‘to look intently’ – because of the busyness of our lives on the surface, and perhaps because it shines a light on an area or areas of our lives that needs production – for us to do something -when the easy road is to just move on. Slowing down means introspection (perhaps inaction) followed up with some type of action in order to transform, change. I find myself deep in knowledge but shallow in action at times.
Pete, this post may require a deeper, introspective action and perhaps be the theme of your next book – it struck a chord with your readers today
This is GREAT!!
.-= Lauren Kelly´s last blog ..Thanksgiving weekend recap to come… =-.
Wow…you’re dead on here Pete. With the information overload that we can have it’s work to not only stop and dig into the word but to even know which sources are material worth spending our time listening to and meditating upon.
I love the book of James. It’s not one of the first books many people look at for wisdom and direction but it’s a ton of thick, rich spiritual meat.
.-= Jason´s last blog ..Thoughts on a pastor’s suicide =-.
Have you seen The Blindside? Loved this movie and one of the things I loved is that it was love put into action.
You are right in that we have access to so much information…we also have so much ‘cluttering’ up our heads too, or at least I do. We need to slow down and make space for what God is saying to us and also for what He is telling us to do with it all.
.-= joyce´s last blog ..A lot of a lots =-.
Someone very wise told me I can’t do a darn thing to will my heart to transform – to transfer that head knowledge into my heart. I can prepare, but the only thing I can “do” is to be willing – to make a conscious decision to obey what I hear.
.-= anne jackson´s last blog ..What Blogs Are You Reading? =-.
@Joyce, I haven’t seen it yet but it’s at the top of my “must see” list.
.-= Pete Wilson´s last blog ..Information Does Not Equate To Transformation =-.
Great post, Pete. And isn’t it ironic that “hurry” is such an enemy when we live in such an entertainment-absorbed culture? Like we rush past all that “other” stuff (God, Bible study, prayer, transformation, etc.) so we can park it on the couch and be entertained for hours. Go figure.
I just finished reading Seth Godin’s “The Dip” last night. It was a small, simple, and powerful book. He said, most of the stuff he wrote was not not “new.” Meaning, its all stuff we know: “Do your best,” “Don’t give up,” “Do something you love,” and etc. He said the difference is most people HEAR it but only a few DO it.
That’s what clicked in my head when I read this post. Few people ever stoop down to hear God…come to think of it…that’s one of the reasons He sends adversity. Adversity causes us to stoop down and slow down.
But its ironic when we do slow down to hear Him, we get where we’re going faster:)
Be blessed
.-= MichaelHolmes´s last blog ..Why Ireland is Running Out of Priests =-.
Thanks to our splendid Bible societies and to other effective agencies for the dissemination of the Word, there are today many millions of people who hold “right opinions,” probably more than ever before in the history of the Church. Yet I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the “program.” This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us.
Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts. ~ A.W. Tozer
Written more than 4 decades ago… I think Aiden would agree with you.
Great post! I recently started giving God His “Sacred Portion” every morning. My first fruits. I get up 20 minutes earlier than I have to wake up my older boys and crack open my Bible. I am reading the Book of Acts right now…powerful!
I cannot tell you how this has blessed me…I am able to face the day with a fresh positive attitude, influenced by the solid foundation of Truth that was set for the day.
.-= *~Michelle~*´s last blog ..Not me Monday =-.
I’d agree that HURRY is a big problem but there is something else as well.
Busyness is a tactic the enemy uses to keep us distracted and unfocused on what is really important, often causing us to justify our actions or inactions to a point where we don’t even realize what’s happening.
I think the other aspect of this though is DESIRE + SACRIFICE. We have to WANT to change and we have to put into the practice the elements of change. In a practical sense, if we want to stop smoking… we have to want it bad enough to set into motion the practices that will help us stop (not buying cigarettes is a great first step). We can’t sit around and WANT change and WISH for it to happen without stepping into the game with some sort of personal responsibility and action. Sacrifice is hard and our culture preaches against it. Everything is engrained in us about convenience, novelty and quick fixes. Most people already know what they need to do, they just need to actually have the resolve to do it. Easier said than done but to me, that is the core issue.
And BTW… I’m speaking from the perspective of someone who has changed and who continues to change in many areas of my life (like most of us I hope). It’s hard but as the old saying goes… “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” The horse has to WANT it and open his mouth in order for it to be so.
Certain this was for me as I venture into a season of re-dedication to the word and prayer.
You know, Pete, as I think on this some more, I can’t help but bring in the Holy Spirit to this conversation.
Reading through John chapters 14 through 16, we see several times where Christ tells His disciples that there is one who will come after His death that will help them with all this stuff.
I don’t believe that this is anything that we can accomplish on our own.
.-= Tony York´s last blog ..Learn to Breathe =-.
James is one of my favorite books in the Bible for that very reason.
I also love “…whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. for when your faith is tested, your endurance has a change to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” james 1:2-4
I love that… “do what it says…” and “let it grow.”
.-= Taking Heart´s last blog ..Taking Heart today… =-.
@Tony, good word Tony! I totally agree.
.-= Pete Wilson´s last blog ..Information Does Not Equate To Transformation =-.
Pete, I preached on this topic about a month ago using Psalm 19 & 119, and James. It is amazing how God used so many different authors and personalities write words that fit together so well. As Tony said, it has to be the work of the Holy Spirit.
A great challenge!
.-= Nick´s last blog ..What Can You Say? =-.
I was just thinking along these lines the other day. I’ve been so busy with other things that my time alone, quiet, and still with God has become less and less. After this semester is over (this week is the week of studying for finals and doing projects and pretty much finishing the whole semester off..aka the week of insanity), I’m going to schedule time to just be with God–kind of like a class that I HAVE to attend. That might not work for most people, but I think it will work for me. It honestly is amazing how quickly we forget things, or as this passage in James puts it, we forget what we look like. A couple of weeks ago, I deliberately set aside time for God and had SUCH an AMAZING week with God. Since then, I have barely spent time alone with God. Even though it was only a couple of weeks ago, it feels like forever ago.
.-= susan´s last blog ..Love. =-.
Pete,
I think Psalm 37:4 is kind of similar to “stooping to look closely” – it is:
“Delight yourself in the LORD.” Look closely at how good he is and make him #1 in your life.
If I’m delighted in the Lord above all else, if I’m listening to the Holy Spirit, then I’m putting his words into action. But doing this requires recommitting myself to him each day. The problem is, lots of other things are vying to delight me.
When I follow the disciplines (as Michelle mentioned with giving God his “Sacred Portion” each morning before the rest of the family is up) I will have the spiritual strength – the “want to” – to put the words of scripture into action in my life.
Conversely, when I allow God to slip from 1st place, when I’m not with God each day, my “want to” weakens quickly.
One of my favorite Hybels’ comments on this: “Maybe you don’t need to need to be in vital communion with the Lord Jesus each day. But I do – because I know myself. Do you know how long it takes me to fall from being close with Christ to being downright dangerous? 12 to 24 hours. And that’s why I need to spend so much time with him each day.”
Thanks for a great topic Pete.
Just finished Chasing Francis by Ian Cron. It talked about this a lot. I am still processing but agree whole heartedly that we need more than information to truly transform.
Hmmmmmm…….
.-= Torybee´s last blog ..Reset =-.
We just discussed that same scripture last night. You also reminded me of a quote by Wyatt Earp. “Fast is fine, but accuracy is final. You need to learn to be slow in a hurry.”
@Lindsey, I’ve got to read that book. It’s on my short list. Ian has become a friend and I love his perspective on things.
Hi Pete! I meant to comment on this yesterday, but it was one of those busy days… ugh, see there I go rushing, rushing. I loved this post and it was so fitting for me this week as this past Sunday the sermon was on this exact topic. It was the last of a series on ‘Study’. It was great to have your post to look deeper into this topic. I think so often we get caught up in who knows more and forget the most important thing is not just knowing the laws of the Bible, but living them out in our everyday lives.
As I am newly rebuilding my relationship with the Lord I find myself getting frustrated and discouraged because I know so little. I’m trying to use that frustration as motivation to learn more, but this time around to actually put it into practice.
My heart has been extremely heavy in this regard recently. I tend to pray for this very thing constantly in my kids (young adults) lives – who love the Lord. Then I look honestly at myself and have to turn my prayers toward myself. I spend my life working in a thriving ministry and yet days go by where I feel disconnected from my God.
I picture myself standing before Him some day overcome by His Glory…this is how I long to live now – overcome by His Glory!!
Thanks for provoking thought – I needed a push toward Him today instead of hurrying around!
.-= Lori Biddle´s last blog ..my day off =-.
“The colossal misunderstanding of our generation is the assumption that insight will work with someone who is unmotivated to change” – unknown
.-= Aaron B. Reddin´s last blog ..My Friends Are Better Than I Am =-.