HEARING BUT NOT DOING IN AUSTRALIA
According to a recent survey by two universities, teen boys in Australia are less likely than other groups to observe social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Sandler (age 12) of Armadale, a suburb of Perth, worries about this because classes resumed there last month. He is concerned that his peers understand the warnings but don’t think they apply to them. “People do know they should be social distancing,” he says, “but it’s like with a cigarette, you know, ‘Oh, one more won’t hurt’ type of thing.” Teen boys are statistically more likely to push limits and test authority. The survey showed that they are also more likely than teen girls to believe someone of their age who doesn’t follow the COVID safety rules is “cool” for doing so.
HEARING BUT NOT DOING IN THE BIBLE
James warned his readers about the dangers of hearing the wisdom of God but not applying it. It’s good to know God’s Word and to agree with it, but it’s something else entirely to actually do it. It is beautiful when someone who claims to love others proves through action that this is truly so. Our actions are the outworking of what we really believe.
Questions
- What’s an example of when you or someone else ignored a warning and suffered a natural consequence?
- How does it feel when you are observing wise restrictions and others are not?
- When have you been able to see what someone actually believed by what they did or did not do?
