Jesus said it this way:“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. — Matthew 7:28-29 (ESV)

Now, please don’t get me wrong, information, data, facts, and figures, Bible study are important. Jesus Himself says that you have to hear the words he speaks. But in today’s era of instant everything, there is a wealth of information at our fingertips. Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Hey Google make it extremely easy to answer virtually any question we have in the moment.  Want to lose weight? Ask Siri. Want some ideas on what to make for supper? Pintrest knows.  Need parenting advice, a quick search with Cortana will quickly yield results. But notice what Jesus says, “Anyone who hears my words….AND does them will be like a wise man. Anyone who hears my words….and does NOT do them will be like a foolish man…”

It’s not enough for me to know how to do something if I don’t put it into practice. If I know that cutting down portion sizes in my meals and reducing the sugars I consume will help me lose weight, but I simply continue to eat what I want when I want, what practical value is that knowledge? If I look at all of the ideas on Pintrest, but never take steps to make a recipe, supper will be the same old thing again and will be of no lasting value to me. If I know that reading to my children and putting them to bed at 8:30 helps to build well rested, well-adjusted children, but I let them “just finish this one more round,” I will watch my house fall with a great crash. Jesus pulls no punches with a mentality like that and calls it what it is….Foolish.

Knowledge is not power, the application of knowledge is power. Knowledge without application is foolish. But remember this, the real power of this thought is not for someone else, it’s for you and it’s for me. Please don’t take this truth and go to your friend, spouse, co-worker, neighbor, or church-member and tell them they need to do this. Please take this truth and apply it to your life first and then, if invited, feel free to share this blog article with your squad. It’s a principle called, Non-Judgmental, Personal Responsibility (read more about it here).