5 days with james: monday

You’ve heard the phrase ‘practice what you preach’. In the Book of James, it reads as such:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

When a preacher or pastor does something wrong, it makes for headlines. While we are all just as weak or fallible, some can fail in silence while others must succumb to the cry “you hypocrite!”

I wonder, however, whether this affects what topics pastors and preachers choose for their Sunday sermons. I wonder whether this need to ‘practice what you preach’ leads some to simply “preach what they already practice”. After all, do you find it surprising that the most popular sermons among married men involve homosexuality and abortions? Those are pretty safe bets.

Of course, these fears probably extend beyond the pulpit. I am sure that I am more likely to harp on my spouse, my kids, my co-workers in areas that are my strengths – and ignore their lapses in areas where I, let's say, need some more practice.