The four struggles of a person that we will focus on these few weeks are:
- Spiritually Drifting Off
- Spiritually Tuned Out
- Spiritually Impulsivity
- Spiritual Hyperactivity
Hyperactivity is defined as being abnormally or extremely active. Think about it when it comes to our praxology of worship, the way we 'practice/live out what we believe'. We do so much doing when it comes to our personal lives that we fail to be about our relationship with God. We attend service, sing worship, participate in Fine Arts, be in the worship bands, work in audio/video, lift our hands in worship, pray in front of others, and that’s just church ‘stuff’, then there is playing sports, going to school, movies, shopping, etc.
The area of discussion is addressing the idea that many of us ‘know’ so much about God and Christianity but many fail to ‘do’!
James 1:22-25 - 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 a man 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 the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
Here are a couple thoughts to consider:
There is a positive hyperactivity. Vs. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. “But be doers” means to “show yourselves to be.” This phrase is in the “present middle imperative,” ‘present tense’, which means it is a kind of action. James says we are to keep doing what it says. We can read a lot of different books, but they do not demand anything of us. Reading a cookbook does not demand you bake a cake or a three course meal. But to the Christian that reads the bible with a teachable, trainable heart, there is a calling by the Holy Spirit of God to respond to His truth.
There is also a negative hyperactivity. Vs 23-24 - 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. The illustration James gives us is a casual, haphazard approach to looking at something, just a glance. This person looks at something but does not observe cannot recall what they have seen. This is a careless ‘busy/hyperactivity’ person. A careless person makes mistakes. If a bomb technician working on the wiring to disable a bomb were hyperactive and not focused he could make his whole day go bad. It is also true for us to be careless and casual with God’s Word. That casualness is similar to hyperactivity. We read but don't follow through, we ‘know’ but fail to ‘do’.
Lastly, there is a perfect hyperactivity. James 1:25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. The word “looks” in verse 23 speaks of casualness (κατανοέω [katanoeo /kat·an·o·eh·o/] translates as “to perceive, remark, observe, understand.”), but in verse 25 speaks of a discipline to commitment (παρακύπτω [parakupto /par·ak·oop·to/] translates as “to look carefully into, inspect curiously// of one who would become acquainted with something.”). Our purpose in the Christian life should be to be conformed to the example and image of Christ. When we come to the Word of God it should be something we are diligent in, pursuing the truth, and ultimately desiring to discipline our lives by. We must study it carefully and let it be applied in our lives to not miss any details. James calls God’s Word “the perfect law of liberty.” So what James is speaking of is God’s Word or law is perfect, complete and it brings liberty, through the death of Christ we have freedom!
Question: Are you so hyperactive and busy for God that we forget to be about God?
...read more on "Spiritual ADHD Part 4"!
