James 1:26-27
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Personal Challenge...
Here are three examples of the relationship between faith and works: mastery over speech...our tongue, ministry to the needy, and moral purity in thought and deed. (Taken from the notes of the Orthodox Study Bible.) Has my involvement in my church boiled down to seeking to be entertained on Sunday mornings, or putting on great religious roles of righteousness on Sunday while treating my coworkers or family like dirt the rest of the week, or... If so, then my heart has been deceived and my religion is empty and defiled. It is my duty to my Lord to live my life in a way so as to imitate Him with the pursuit of becoming like Him. Maybe it is time that all of us who profess the name of Jesus to look at our lives and get our acts together...for our Lord and for our neighbor.
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