Living By the Compass

As a pastor, I am often aware of how difficult it is for people to translate Christian concepts into everyday life. Our church language is filled with big words—heavenly ideas that sound right in a worship service but feel out of place on the job site, in the classroom, or in the grocery store.

We believe in love.
We talk about joy.
We pray for peace.
We speak about faith, hope, and wisdom.

But at some point, the average believer runs into a simple, unavoidable question:
What does any of that actually look like once I leave church?

The problem is not our vocabulary.

The problem is learning how to turn nouns into verbs.

How do you do love—especially when someone is difficult?
How do you do peace—particularly when life is chaotic?
How do you do faith—at two in the morning when anxiety and fear feel very real?

Learning more about the big ideas of Scripture is not the answer. To become an effective Christian, knowledge cannot remain merely conceptual. It must be lived out. Faith has to be practiced before we can say we truly have it.

We are in a series on the epistle of James at the church where I pastor, and this letter becomes especially helpful in this area.

James does not spend his time defining what Christianity is. He shows what Christianity does. His letter reads less like a theological treatise and more like a field manual for living out faith. If we survey the book, we encounter a striking list of direct and practical commands—so concrete that they almost feel like a “how-to” guide for following Christ.

Well . . . at least that’s what I thought at first.

Permit me to give you an extensive list of James’ instructions:

• Endure trials with daily obedience, because perseverance is the proving ground of genuine faith. (James 1:2–4, 12) 
• Act on what Scripture commands rather than merely agreeing with it, because if your belief does not change your behavior, it is self-deception. (James 1:22–25)
• Control your speech, because uncontrolled words reveal an unconverted heart. (James 1:26; 3:1–12)
• Give your time and resources to those who are truly in need, because faith that ignores need is empty. (James 1:27; 2:1–13)
• Make your faith visible through concrete actions, because a belief that never acts is not a living faith. (James 2:14–26)
• Submit your plans to God with humility, because thinking you are in charge of your own life contradicts trust in God. (James 4:6–10; 4:13–17)
• Stay patient and faithful over time, especially when the outcomes you want are delayed, because mature faith endures without resentment. (James 5:7–11)
• Speak and act with honesty, because manipulation indicates a divided heart. (James 5:12)

Wait a minute, this is not an instruction manual.

I have intentionally worded James’ commands in practical language. It is easy to see how powerful they are and how they can be applied immediately to everyday life. They are specific—sometimes blunt, sometimes uncomfortable. This is James’ way of moving us past good intentions and calling out our conduct.

But as I read the list, something began to bother me.

They do not follow a neat train of thought. There is no obvious outline. No clear progression. At first glance, the list reads like a random set of commands. And even though each instruction can stand on its own and make an impact, my tendency to look for structure in the biblical authors became an obstacle.

When I asked myself, “What is James’ overall message?” I struggled to find the framework.

Eventually, I did find James’ structural skeleton. And when I did, I realized that thinking about these commands like an instruction manual was the wrong analogy altogether.

James was not giving us a manual.

He was giving us a compass, not a map.

The Compass of James

What is the underlying principle that guides all of these commands?

I found it in James 2:8: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.”

James introduces something he calls the royal law. He does not use that phrase to sound poetic or clever. He uses it because the law he is describing comes from the King Himself. It is the law of the Kingdom—the law Jesus taught.

In Matthew 22:36–40, Jesus is asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” His answer is simple, but staggering in its scope:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

This is the great and first commandment.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

When Jesus was asked to identify the greatest commandment, He did not offer a long or complicated explanation. He did something far more radical. He reduced the entire law of God—think about that: every command given through Moses and every instruction echoed by the prophets—down to two foundational directions:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

And when Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, He was not merely summarizing Scripture. He was giving us a type of orientation for life.

He gave us two directions to love.
Just like a compass.

The Vertical Axis

If the royal law is a compass, then one direction always points upward.

Some of James’ commands are clearly about our relationship with God. For example, James tells us to endure trials without abandoning obedience. This command is not simply about being tough or having personal grit. It is what love for God looks like when it refuses to leave Him under pressure. It is endurance expressed as loyalty.

When James teaches us to submit our plans to God with humility instead of assuming we are in control of our own lives, he is not addressing personality traits or temperament. He is showing us what love for God looks like when it stops insisting on having its own way.

And when James teaches us to remain faithful when the outcomes we want are delayed, he is not calling us to passive resignation. He is portraying a love for God that continues to trust Him when nothing seems to be moving.

In other words, James is teaching us how we will act when our faith is oriented toward God on the vertical axis. He is saying: This is what it looks like when a person truly loves God.

The Horizontal Axis

The other direction of the compass extends outward rather than upward. It reaches toward other people.

Many of James’ instructions address how we treat others. The way we speak, the way we set our priorities, and the way we act toward people all reveal whether our love for our neighbor is real or merely assumed.

When James warns us about the power of the tongue, he knows that words can wound, manipulate, and destroy. Controlling how we speak is not merely about maturity or self-control. It is an expression of how well we love others.

And when James speaks about caring for those in need, he is not simply promoting social justice. He is showing what love looks like when it is no longer filtered through self-promotion or personal comfort.

Even in his most famous statement—“faith without works is dead”—James is not talking about earning salvation. He is asking whether love has become visible. Faith that never moves toward others in concrete ways has never left the realm of words.

So you see, James’s list of practical commands is not scattered at all. They are clear demonstrations of what life looks like when the compass of the royal law guides a person.

When both the vertical and horizontal axes are held together, a checklist of religious behavior is no longer necessary. Living by the compass does not mean having a manual that says, “In case of this situation, do that.” It removes the need for loopholes, technicalities, or legal exceptions. Every command is clarified by one question: Does this reflect love for God and love for others?

And this is how the big ideas finally become livable.

If you want to know how to do love, how to do peace, how to do wisdom, hope, or any other of the great themes of the Christian life, begin here: consider the direction of your love.

When you love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself, you are free to act however you want—not because anything goes, but because what you truly want will be what is right.