James: Faith in ActionSample

Practice Makes Perfect

Think about the last time you did well on a test or exam. How did you succeed? Chances are you listened in class to learn about the subject and then practiced it yourself with study or homework. Paying attention helped you learn, but you had to do the work yourself as well to get the best results.

Living the way God wants is a lot like that. We learn about how to live by reading God’s word, but then we also need to do what it says. For example, Jesus tells us that we should treat those around us like we would want to be treated (see Matthew 22:37-39). In James, we see what that might look like: listening to others, not getting angry or being rude to them, and looking out for people who are going through hard times.

Listening and reading God’s word in the Bible is really important—that’s how we learn! But that’s just the first step. Putting what we learn into action is what God really wants us to do.

Questions:

1. Why do you think it’s important to put what you learn into practice? Do you think the more you practice the better you’ll get?
2. It can be easy to forget what you learn. What could you do to help you remember the way God wants you to live?
3. What’s one thing you read from the passage today you could put into action now? Check out verses 19-21 and 26-27 for some ideas.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me Your word in the Bible, so I can learn how You want me to live. Please help me to put into practice what I learn and to show love to others, even when it’s hard. Amen.