Lifestyle Audit

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.--James 1:22



Being in the environmental field, part of my work involves conducting compliance audits of different facilities. I have a large collection of documents that spell out the specific state and federal regulations. These regulations enable me and the rest of the auditing team to point out problems or "findings" at the facilities we inspect, and give us a starting point for what recommendations we make for ways to fix any existing problems.

Throughout the last couple days of my auditing work, I have thought quite a bit about the difference between knowing what the laws say, and doing what they say. No one likes to be scrutinized, and no one particularly enjoys hearing that the things that they have been doing are incorrect. This is true in the business world as well as our personal lives.

Today's verse is interesting in the sense that it assumes that we are taking inventory of our own lives. We are solely responsible for making sure we read God's word and subsequently carry out it's teachings in every day life. No one comes to visit us at the end of each year with a checklist in hand to make sure we have complied. If we are not living a life that glorifies God and follows his commands, it is because we have deceived ourselves.

Failure to obey God is self deception in the sense that we have told ourselves that we are somehow outside of the law. We think the rules don't apply to us or that our way of doing things is just as good as , if not better than, God's way. This type is not only arrogant, but in my way of thinking, it is downright sinful.

Hearing God's word is important, but doing what it says is imperative. Unless we understand what his word says, we will never be able to successfully do what it says. Just like large companies have professionals to help them interpret important compliance laws, Christians have access to teachers of God's word. These teachers are mature Christians, pastors, and other church authorities who demonstrate that they understand God's laws for our lives.