If all we do is listen to God's Word without actually putting it into practice, we're really no different from those who don't believe. Honestly, it would almost be better if we never heard it at all, rather than hearing it and then choosing to ignore it. The sole reason God makes His Word available to us is so that we can implement it.
In most cases, God's Word comes with clear instructions. If we neglect those instructions, it's an act of disobedience. It's one thing to hear what God says, but it's an entirely different thing to do what His Word contains.
James 1:22 explains this point better:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
We can't outsmart God. If we commit to doing His Word, He knows. And if we don't, He knows that too. When we actively do what God's Word says, we fulfill the very purpose for which He made it available to us.
James 1:25 offers a wonderful promise: But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The beautiful thing about doing God's Word isn't just that we obey Him; we also attract blessings to ourselves by doing so. This tells us that we never lose out when we obey God's Word. Instead, we stand to gain His blessings by being doers of His Word.