It is easy to go to church, hear a sermon, be deeply moved by it and then go back to life as normal, quickly forgetting what you heard. It is easy to hear truth and really believe in it, but harder and more vital to act upon it. But the more teaching we get, the more responsibility we have to respond to it. We must take action on what we have heard. Listen to the way James speaks of it:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25 (ESV)
With this in mind, let’s put into action some of the things we have been learning at Awakening in the recent “Barbie and Ken and the Fate of the Human Race” series.
In part 2 of the series, Ryan explained how “the fate of the human race depends not on finding the right person, but becoming the right person.” The truth is that we all have issues to work through and character flaws to address that will seriously hinder us from developing healthy relationships should we not do so. And this need is very pressing, more so than finding the right person. Ryan explained this as “taking out the trash” in your life. The “trash” items he discussed were:
- Unresolved family issues
- Your past wounds
- Current bad habits /addictions
- Misplaced security / identity
- Any destructive emotions
- Financial debt
Let’s be doers here. Proverbs 12:11 says, “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.” We must “work the land” in our lives. We must do the hard labor now in building our character.
Action Point: Pray over these different things listed here. Which ones are most relevant to your life?
Once you have recognized which trash items are really rank, you must bring them into the light as it says in 1 John 1:7: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Bringing our trash into the light involves confessing our flaws and failures not only to God but to ourselves and to other people. Then we get help and accountability in community that will help to eradicate these things from our lives.
Action Point: Commit to talking to a friend, mentor or your Bible study about these things in your life.
We need outside support and guidance. So the next thing we must do, which follows naturally, is to seek out mentors that will help us address different areas in our lives. Ryan talked about seeking a “board of directors,” or a few different people that can speak into specific areas of our lives. The fact is we may need more than just one mentor; we need various mentors that have special wisdom or experience in each area we are trying to grow. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Action Point: List three wiser or more experienced people in your life who you could ask to mentor you in different areas of your life. Pray over this list. Finally, pursue these people.
We must ask ourselves how serious we really are about becoming the men and women God has asked us to be. Will we be doers of the Word? Or will we keep repeating the same mistakes? The fate of our relationships and the fate of the human race depend on our answer.
Author: Jeff Oleson