Mirrors

Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger for anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts; such a one shall be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:19-27)

Are we religious?  Most of us really are not, according to James, because we are not doers of the word, and we do not bridle our tongues.  Now that is a truth!  How have we used social media recently? 

Who do we see when we look at our face in a mirror?  We see a mirror image meaning the potential to be the opposite of who we really are and need to be. 

Next time we pass that mirror let’s stop and look ourselves in the eye.  Let’s decide to put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in us and is able to save our souls.  Mirrors are more than a tool for self-adoration, shaving, and putting on makeup.  They are for reflection and soul searching.

Deacon David Pierce