James 4:17 "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

You ever have a phrase or saying that always seems to pop into your head, whether or not you’ve thought about it recently? Perhaps something like, “early bird gets the worm”, or “blood is thicker than water”. What about Scripture? Does a particular verse pop into your head at the appropriate time, reminding you of what you should be doing? For me, that verse has always been James 4:17, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” I’m not sure when I first became connected to that verse, but it’s always been there to prod me to action at times when doing nothing may seem normal. Let me give you an example: People stranded on the side of the road. Do I always stop? Almost always; do I know why? Yep, it’s James 4:17, that verse pops into my head every time I see a car broken down on the highway. Does guilt make me stop? Sometimes; but more often than not it’s simply a sense that Scripture wouldn’t be in my head for no reason. God wanted me to learn something from this verse, and this time it stuck.
Another example: Stopping to grab a branch or garbage can that has partially blocked the road. Sure, it’s easy to go around, but for some reason James 4:17 always reminds me that there is some good that I ought to do. Here’s a weird aspect to this story…On one trip home from Nicole’s Grandma’s house in Muskegon I noticed car after car swerving around a couple of big cardboard boxes in the road; it was dark, an accident waiting to happen. So I stopped. What was in the boxes? A brand new set of iron lawn chairs. That was unexpected, but there was no address no label, just a brand name on the boxes; what should I do now? Did God put those boxes there to teach me to always do good when I can, especially when there isn’t any reward? Probably not, but the lesson stuck on me either way; I’ll have to ponder that question sitting in my lawn chair on the porch this summer.