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 (NIV)
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, to share, to invest our lives in 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 two-thirds
of the year, 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:
Elizabeth is a wife and mother of three grown
daughters and two son-in-laws. She is the Director of Connecting and of We
Women at Oakwood Church.
