Be Doers
“Neither I nor any other preacher can see into your hearts... but God is looking, for nothing can be hidden from Him. Do not deceive yourselves by coming eagerly to hear the Word and then failing to do it. If it is a good thing to hear, it is a much better thing to do. If you do not hear, you cannot do, and therefore you will build nothing. But if you hear and do not do, then what you are building will be a ruin.”
- St. Augustine
The Epistle of St. James (PDF), by Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty
James 1: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Merely hearing the Law does not justify; the reality or evidence of justification is in the doing. The one who hears and does, he builds his house on a rock; the one who hears and does not, he builds his house on sand.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
The word of God is like a mirror, revealing our shortcoming and weaknesses. This comes from reflecting on God’s word (or God’s Word).
When man realizes his position as a child of God, he does not cease to cleave to his Father, communing with Him, holding fast to his rights in the holy life.
This mirror also reminds us of our heavenly rebirth, that we are a new spiritual creation in God.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
The law of liberty is the Gospel, freeing us from the bondage of sin. This is how to understand that Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. Even though we forsake much, we live in this liberty of a light yoke. What we do, under this law of liberty, will lead to blessing.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
True religion stems from the heart. It is not what goes into the mouth that makes the man impure, but what comes out from his mouth.
From St. John Saba:
“Whoever is cautious with his tongue, his treasure will never be taken away from him. The mouth of a silent translates the mysteries of God, and whoever swiftly talks distances his Creator from him.”
Controlling one’s mouth is like mortifying one’s thoughts. We kill them before they have a chance to come out and do damage. We consider them and ask if these are offered in a loving manner.
A brother asked an elder: “My father, I desire to preserve my heart.” The elder answered, “How can you preserve your heart while your tongue, which is the door of the heart, is wide open?”
The one who does not control his tongue is the one who deceives himself.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Pure religion isn’t faith. It is the doing based on that faith. It includes all of thought, word, and deed – what we believe, what we say, and what we do.
“…without showing mercy to others, how could we ask God’s mercy to keep us unspotted from the filthiness and the lusts of the world?”
Keeping unspotted leaves no room for Satan.
Conclusion
The early church gave much attention to widows and orphans.
From Abba Isidore the Priest:
“…it is impossible for you to live according to God if you love pleasures and money.”