As a male, a husband, and a father, my job is to fix things. I don’t just mean to get out the plunger when the toilet clogs, replace the leaky faucet, or sew the eyeball back on the stuffed animal. My job is to provide leadership for the family and when I see relationships within the family that are not going well, or a behavior pattern that is not good, my job is to fix it. That is what we are wired to do. That is our Biblical role.
Sometimes, I see behaviors in my kids that I don’t like, and realize they are just like me. Instead of fixing the kids, I step back and realize that I need to fix me. But it is much easier for me to continue in my ways and tell the kids what they need to do. To tell them “don’t be like me” or “you are better than me, so don’t do what I do”. But, they are most always either going to do what I do, or rebel and not listen to anything I say, even on the rare occasions that I get it right.
James 1:22 says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Too often I treat my Christianity like I treat my kids. “I’m not going to do what I say, but you need to.” I know what I need to be doing or how I should behave, but knowing and doing are two very different things. I read the Bible and call myself a Christian, but am I really following Christ and doing what he says?
Step one in this process is to actually “listen to the word”. Read the Bible! Often! Sometimes we need to turn off all of the other people telling us what the Bible says and actually read the Bible. Get away from social media, blog posts (except mine, of course), Bible commentaries, and other people telling us what the Bible says, and actually read the Bible with an open mind and pray for wisdom and understanding. Let God speak to us through his word. There is a place for the other input. I read posts and books that help me understand things or give me a different perspective. They are good. But too many times we get someone else’s thought process in our head and we read the Bible through that filter and search the scriptures to prove that point of view. We need to spend some time away from all of the other input and just read the Bible. James actually says to “listen to the word”, which was how most people then heard the scriptures. But that is a good way for us to hear it as well. When I listen to the Bible (many Bible apps have an audio feature), I hear things that I missed when I read the same passage. Listening and reading stimulate different parts of the brain and we do actually learn more by doing both.
I think some people are afraid to read the Bible because they don’t want to be condemned. They don’t want to change. Just like when I talk to my kids. I don’t want to change. Change is hard. I have to change some habits and get uncomfortable. Change implies that I have been wrong and nobody likes to admit they were wrong, especially some of us a little older. What? Admit that I’ve been wrong for the last 30 years! That is hard. It feels much better when I study the Bible to prove that I am right.
But, reading and studying the Bible is not like that. Yes, there are times that I read the Bible and realize that I have been wrong about things for 30 years, but that realization is freeing. James 1:25 calls the scriptures “the perfect law that gives freedom”. When we listen to God speaking to us through his word and put it into practice in our own lives, it brings a peace beyond all understanding. It is liberating. Less stress. Less anger. It is no coincidence that this passage comes right after the passage on anger. When I understand the word of God and live it, that freedom is an emotional freedom that brings peace. Those that read God’s word, listen to God, and do what it says, “they will be blessed in what they do.” (verse 25)
Just like my kids, there are two general reactions to God’s word. We can rebel against what dad says and do it our way anyway, giving up the true freedom in Christ and living a life of anxiety, frustration, and anger. Or we can listen to dad, set aside our pride, change our ways, and live a life of freedom, peace, and humility. We can study the Bible and tell our kids what they need to do, or we can look into that mirror and make the changes we need to make. The choice is ours to make.
I know the choice I want to make. I also know that it is hard. I didn’t always listen to my dad and I don’t always listen to my heavenly father. But I always have the ability to listen and change. To listen and do. God gives us his word to look at and see that reflection of who we should be… who we are in Christ.
So go and read the Bible and do what it says. That’s my dad answer to fix things. I know it is not really that simple, but it is not as complicated as we sometimes think.
I hope you have a great week and live life every day in the freedom that God provides. A life full of faith, family, and fun.
Comment below on your best dad (or mom) advice.
