Former Blackout Artist

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
– James 4:17

I believe Jesus’ parable about The Good Samaritan is a pretty accurate illustration of what James is talking about here.

We have the priest who saw the wounded man. Then the Levite saw him too. And neither one of them lacked knowledge – they both knew what mercy required, but they chose not to act. Their sin wasn’t something they did – it was something they failed to do.

On the flip side, the Samaritan passed by and saw the same need as the priest and the Levite. But out of mercy, he responded. He didn’t just know what was right—he did it.

It’s easy to think of sin only as wrong actions, but James reminds us that God also cares about neglected obedience. When He puts an opportunity to show love, mercy, kindness, or compassion in front of us, the question is not simply, “What do I know?” but “What will I do with what I know?”

I don’t know about you, but I think I struggle with not doing the good I know I ought to do just as often as I struggle with doing the bad I know I ought not to do.

As Paul says at the end of Romans 7:

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (24-25)

Prayer: Lord, help me not only to know what is right, but to do it. Give me eyes to see the needs around me and a heart willing to respond in obedience. Amen.