“But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (NKJV)

With so many diverse people in our lives, how do we decide what position each individual fills? The answer is quite simple: permit each person to voluntarily determine who he or she desires to be in your life. They never do so by their words, or by their intentions—they do so only by their actions.

James tells us that we need to be doers of the Word of God, and that we continually need to look at ourselves in the illuminated mirror of the Scriptures. What is in a mirror when we look at ourselves becomes a lens when we look at our relationships. You see, once we ourselves become doers of the Word of God, we must expect that of other people as well. While we may think one person is great and another is a hassle, the truth of who they are in our lives cannot be defined by our perception or their personalities. It must be defined by their actions and the principles they choose to embrace.

In 1967, the world saw Israel’s new Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, through a new lens, one that carried him once again into center stage. Aware of Egypt’s mobilization on her borders, Dayan avoided outside help and began to act by readying his troops for another concentrated war. With each new crisis, it became acutely obvious the awesome role this man would perpetually play inside his nation’s history. Yes, each person is defined by their actions, and when we see people through that lens of relationship, it becomes very clear the role each one is to play in our lives along with we in theirs.

DAILY CONFESSION

Father, I thank You for helping me allow each person in my life determine who they are going to be, and for helping me judge according to Your Word, not my own perceptions.