Where’s the Peck of Pickled Peppers?
By Elizabeth Cole
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 2:22
Remember this tongue twister from childhood?
Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers;
a peck of pickled peppers
Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers
Peter Piper picked?
In the midst of all the laughter at humorous mispronunciation, I’m not sure I’ve ever paid much attention to the actual words. Poor guy. And by the way, were the peppers pickled at the point he picked them, or did he pick the peppers and then pickle them? (Try that one fast and out loud!) Inquiring minds want to know because the answer places him in either the grocery store or the field. But once more, I digress…
Bottom line, here’s this man who’s spent time acquiring eight dry quarts of peppers and yet, apparently, he has nothing to show for it and nothing to share. Depending on your childhood illustrator of choice, either the guy just carelessly lost all his peppers or else he’s sitting in a corner with a stomachache, having eaten all the pickled peppers himself. Either way, it’s terribly sad.
As Christ-followers, we have access to such abundance: multiple copies of God’s Word, an endless supply of Bible studies, great teaching, small groups, stirring worship music. We spend time acquiring spiritual knowledge and experiences…and yet, it seems that so often, we as God’s people have nothing to show for it and nothing to share.
A paraphrase of what James writes in his New Testament letter says, “Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!” True confessions: I’m one of those “inquiring minds.” I love to learn, and there are times that I digress from obediently applying what God’s taught me to just being all the more prideful about what I know. According to Brother James, that’s terribly sad.
The right-hearted response to knowledge and experiences is to let the Holy Spirit use them to change us, to cause us to humbly love our God all the more, to move us a step closer to looking like what He’s always had in mind for us…and then let Him use us to give God’s love to others.
Got anything to show for your time in the Word this week? Check out those pickled peppers…!
GOING DEEPER:
1. As you look back over the first half of 2011, where do you see areas of spiritual growth in your life?
2. What would you need to change to reap and use greater spiritual fruit gleaned from your exposure to God’s Word?
3. Commit to apply one new principle from the Bible to your life this week.
FURTHER READING:
John 15:1-17; James 1:23-25; Hebrews 5:11-14
Elizabeth is a wife, mother to three grown daughters, and Director of Connectinh and Women’s Ministries at Oakwood Church.
