James 1:19–27

Solomon began the sixth chapter of Ecclesiastes with penetrating words:

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun
And it is prevalent among men.

The message God has for us could be introduced with those very words. It has to do with a common and prevalent ailment that exists in the body of Christ . . . a “disease” that has crippling effects upon our effectiveness and production. The evil illness neutralizes our impact and nullifies our testimony. It is the problem of divorce—not between husband and wife but between theory and practice, between hearing and doing.

James dealt with trials (James 1:1–12) and temptations (1:13–18), but in 1:19–27 comes the basic theme of the letter—the importance of behaving like we believe. The absence of such constitutes “the great divorce” among the ranks of Christianity.

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