Living Like We Mean It, Part 2 James 1:19-27 February 15, 2026 WVPC Today’s passage from the Book of James compares looking in a mirror with reading God’s word. So let’s prepare our hearts to hear his practical advice for today. Let’s pray. Almighty God, open our minds now by the power of your Holy Spirit. As we read the Scriptures, and hear them being read, may our minds focus deeply on what you say, just as we would focus on our faces when we look into a mirror. May your Spirit lead us into your truth and your will, for the sake of Jesus Christ, who loves us and lives for us and reigns in power for us. Amen. James, Chapter 1, verses 19-27. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. We have just listened to God’s holy Word. What are we going to do about it? As James says in v. 22, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! ” If we don’t do what God’s word says, then it’s as if we were to eat a big plate of spinach, go into the bathroom and look at ourselves in the mirror, and then walk out – ignoring all the spinach bits that we can plainly see, stuck between our teeth. In the same way, when we read or listen to God’s word, we need to do more than just hear it. We need to do more than just walk away and ignore it. I repeat what James says so very plainly: “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.” We at least need to do the moral equivalent of flossing our teeth! And get rid of at least some of that moral filth! James has some specific, practical suggestions, just as we might expect from him. Of course, we could choose to just ignore what James tells us. We could just say, “Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah, that’s just preacher talk”, and then close our Bibles (or our bulletins), walk out of the sanctuary, and pay no further attention to what God has said to us. Or, we could choose to do something about what God has said to us in his word. So, first let’s look at the specific things that God is saying to us through this passage in James; and then we can maybe extend that a bit to include other aspects of our lives. First, in v. 19, we read, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” And why should we be slow to speak and become angry? Because, v. 20, “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Which is quite true! we all can remember a time when someone was angry with us and said something that really hurt us. And then, out of our own hurt, usually one of two things happens: 1) we lash back with our own anger, which just escalates the anger level; or, 2) we withdraw in pain and cut off the relationship, which means we don’t solve anything. Fight or flight, as they say. Neither of them work very well. Do either of those two responses reflect the righteousness that God desires? No, they do not. Human anger usually doesn’t produce an equitable solution to a conflict. Human anger usually produces escalation or withdrawal. Instead, says James, we shouldn’t get so angry in the first place. We are to be quick to listen and slow to speak, because those two things usually do help us work out a solution to a conflict. In v. 26, James says, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” In other words, don’t say things that would harm others. James is also saying, “Don’t gossip.” both men and women do gossip; it’s just that we gossip about different things. gossiping about others causes more harm Words really can hurt other people. Words can cause jobs to be lost, or social connections to be broken. Words can lead to expulsion from groups, which in turn causes discouragement and depression. That’s why God’s word tells us to keep a tight rein on the words we use with each other. What we say to one another makes a big difference. And in v. 27, James reminds us to look after orphans and widows in their distress. And that would mean looking after them financially and socially, as well as providing hugs and donuts on Sunday. How might we do that? financially, there is a somewhat limited deacon fund; we can and we do help others with that. And socially, we can invite a newcomer, or someone who is struggling, to come to an event that’s just fun. What James is doing is telling us to take care of people who are financially vulnerable. He says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Back then, social security didn’t mean the government; it meant your family. Which worked OK as long as you had a family! But what if you were a child whose parents had both died? How could you survive on your own? Well, you couldn’t; you’d have to go live with a nearby family member. But what if you don’t have a nearby family member? Then your fellow church members, according to James, were supposed to look after you. They were supposed to take you in. Or what if you were a widow? an adult woman couldn’t go out on her own and get a respectable job. For nearly everyone, the men worked outside the home and the women worked inside the home, which was a reasonable division of labor, given that women were the only ones who could feed babies and young children. But what if her husband had died? Or what if her father died before she got married? Then, again, her fellow church members were supposed to take her in. These days we’re likely to at least have Social Security. But that’s not true for everyone. There are folks in our area who really are struggling financially. So both this church, and also the Neighborhood Church, contribute to West Valley Community Services, which helps people with basics like food and less-expensive housing Why should we be quick to listen and slow to become angry? Why should we keep a tight rein on our tongues? Why should we look after orphans and widows? Because we are blessed if we do. James promises us, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.” So if you would like to be blessed in what you do, maybe you can remember what you’ve heard this morning, and put it into practice. And do what it says, Put it into practice. Reading through this part of James’ letter really is like looking in a mirror to see what needs to be cleaned up. Just as any of us would clean spinach out of our teeth if we looked in a mirror and saw it, so we also have looked into the mirror of God’s word this morning. God’s word shows us what needs to be cleaned out, and where in our life it is. Would you like to be blessed in what you do? Then remember what God’s word says, and do what it says. Lets Pray Let’s pray for the clarity of mind and the determination of the heart, that will help us put God’s word into practice. Almighty God, may we remember what you have said, and reflect on it during this week. When things happen that we don’t like, help us to avoid getting angry. Help us to listen, rather than to condemn; help us to look after those who need our help, rather than ignoring them. May your Holy Spirit remove any evil within us, that we may be blessed in all that we do. For it is in the name of Jesus, who loves us and saves us, that we pray. Amen.