Allow the clean-up to happen

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22-25)

We sometimes forget God's Word is more than a message we merely hear. We must take it a step further - obedience. Obedience to God's Word may seem to be a bit 'unconventional' to the majority who surround you, but it doesn't make it okay to ignore it. It is not obeyed in bits and pieces, but in its entirety. It was given to us to help us know God, understand how he works and moves, and to pattern our lives accordingly.

Whenever we ignore God's Word, we might not think it will matter all that much, especially when it is ignored 'just a little bit'. If we see our face in a mirror, covered with large blemishes that are beginning to reveal themselves just beneath the surface of our skin, then ignore they are there, will they remain 'under the skin' forever? Not usually! They erupt and get more inflamed, making a mess out of our otherwise 'nice' skin. 

Ignoring God's commands is like ignoring those tiny blemishes that are about to erupt into bigger, uglier ones. We must deal with our issues as they begin to be exposed. God's Word is good at exposing what is 'just beneath the surface' in our lives. We won't see those things become 'big, nasty, festering issues' inside us that eventually become gross ones we attempt to cover up somehow if we allow his Word to expose, clear away, and heal. 

No one else may see those 'issues', but God does. He uses his Word as a mirror of sorts to expose what we may not 'easily see'. When he does, we can choose to ignore what is exposing itself, or we can embrace what he is doing and allow the 'clean up' to happen. Just sayin!