Charles Spurgeon Commentary James 1:22-24

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." — James 1:22-24 (ASV)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was.

The best thing to do when you look into a glass and notice a spot on your face, is to wash it off immediately. The true use of hearing or reading the Word is to amend oneself immediately in those points where the Word reveals us to be faulty. To look in the glass and not wash off the spots, is merely vanity; and to hear a sermon or read a chapter and not put into practice what we are taught, is a sad waste of time.