James, the practical man, is telling us that it is tragically possible for us to be self-deluded about what he calls our religion, or what we might call our spiritual lives. Of course, as soon as we recognize that this is a possibility we immediately say, “Well, how do we make sure we’re not deluding ourselves? How do we make sure we’ve got hold of the real thing? The greatest safeguard against deluding ourselves in spiritual matters is to ensure that we are responding appropriately to the Word of God.
James 1:22-27