Fire on One End, Fool on the Other

"Do not merely listen to the word [God's Word, the Bible], and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."1
In his Sermon: "Didn't You Hear What I Said?" Julian Gordy shared how, when he was in high school, "A physician came to talk to us about the dangers of smoking. He scared us with his grim pictures of smokers' lungs and tales of death from lung cancer. The doctor finished his speech by saying, 'Remember, fire on one end, fool on the other.'
"We were all impressed, especially those boys who would sneak out behind the shop building at lunch to light one up. But a couple of the guys saw the doctor himself lighting up when he got back in his car after the lecture. And his credibility was shot. He was the talk of the campus. It would have been better for the no-smoking campaign if he had never come to speak. Saying one thing and doing another is something nobody respects."
Reminds me of the quote that goes something like, "Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear what you say."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to so live that my life will always be a living example of integrity in that the life I live will be in harmony with what I believe and what I say. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. James 1:22-24 (NIV).
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