Tim Pratt Jr. uses James 1:22-24's mirror analogy to argue that knowing Scripture isn't the same as living it. Knowledge alone can't produce wisdom or spiritual growth; only the Holy Spirit's work transforms believers. Self-deception happens when people mistake information for maturity.
Yo, what up, family? Uh, I'm gonna really make this quick. I'm not gonna dive too deep into it, um, but I did want to just share a little bit. Uh, so, uh, man, like, again, you've probably heard me say this, that James is by far like one of my favorite books to study. And I'm looking for the camera. Um, one of my favorite books to study. And, um, in, in that, man, it's just, it's just so practical. And I always like tell people, if you really want to know the truth, if you're living a Christian life or not, Spend some time in the book of James. Uh, so, so again, it's very practical, short book, can be read in about 15 to 20 minutes, but that's just reading through it. And then, but studying it is a lifelong process. Um, but yeah, man, it's— so when I, I've just been camping out here. Um, but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in the mirror. where he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works, this person will be blessed in what he does. And I essentially believe that the perfect law of freedom is essentially looking in God's word. God's word is law, is perfect. He never changed it. Jesus was the only one that could fulfill it. And through Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus alone, in faith, Uh, that's what has made us whole and perfect and in right standing with God when we truly believe that in our heart. Um, and then we have the help of the Helper of the Holy Spirit, which is he's a counselor. Uh, when Jesus ascended, he sent us an advocate, a helper, and we can't do anything apart from him, um, and that pleases God. So I, um, because man, everything is filthy. So in our own merit, our own strength, But what I want to get at, man, is that we live in this knowledge age where there's just no shortage of knowledge. And I think a lot of times, because we can obtain knowledge so fast, we don't even really have to know it now. We can have certain tools now like AI that can again help us sound like we have spent some time with the text. And I think it's given us a false sense of formation, a false sense of maturity. And, uh, but it's something in regards to me camping out in this space where we, we've— we are, we are obtaining this knowledge. But one thing you can't fake for AI is wisdom. You cannot speed up formation. You cannot speed up wisdom. Uh, knowledge you can. Again, you can just— anything easily accessible at our fingertips. Um, but where I believe God is challenging myself, and probably what I'm going to be dealing with, um, In my podcast and this Sunday, Lord's Will, is really just camping out around this self-deception, reading the Bible as— reading the Bible through the lens of a mirror, through a window instead of a mirror. And I just believe, man, like, what— oh, help me say this the right way. I believe that we are cognitively understanding. And again, because we have that knowledge, it's like we're being faked out. We, we think that we are maturing in the things of God. And, and what I'm trying to ask— I wrote it down— one of the questions that I keep really just coming back to, uh, is how can someone genuinely know biblical truth and still be deceived about themselves? Um, because again, uh, knowledge and wisdom, it's, it's distinct. Uh, uh, there's a distinction. And so, and to close this off, what I'm essentially trying to get at is that wisdom helps us apply things correctly, uh, but not just correctly for others or when it comes to financial things. It helps us apply that truth correctly on ourselves, uh, like that. But again, that's just very surface level, um, but man, it's just something that's been on my heart, uh, again, that God just has me camping out in. And I'm just asking that fundamental question of like, Lord, why is it So hard for us to see ourselves? Like, I'm not talking about perfection, but why is it like— what is making it so hard to really look in the truth of the text, to really look into God's word and wrestle with it and pray, as well as community? We want vertical and horizontal relationships, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and just do what it says. Uh, and that's what I believe we wrestle with. And I'll leave you with this last point. You know, I was talking to someone And I was like, man, you know, just say if you get into an argument with somebody— and I'm not saying we can't correct people and challenge people, I'm not saying that at all— but let's just say for instance you get in the heat of argument and the Holy Spirit, the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, is saying, hey, stop, stop, apologize, move on. We often elevate our flesh over what the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit is prompting us to do. And I believe, personally, I believe that that is what we really wrestle with, because it does not feel good to our flesh. I think that's one of the fundamental things a lot of us do. It's like, hey, this does not make sense, I have been wronged, or whatever reason, and I want to stand on it. But if God is saying handle it this way That is where I think we fundamentally often find ourselves wrestling with, because we have to yield, we have to walk, we— it's action, we have to do something. And often, if not every single time, it does not feel good to our flesh. That's what I think. I could be wrong. But anywho, I'm gonna go deeper into this about— if the Lord say the same— Sunday, and possibly on, uh, the podcast to kick off the first Thursday of each month. Be blessed, man. Love y'all.
