Telling others #6: Actions speak louder than words.
| If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well," but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? (James2:15-16) |
When we speak, but our lives do not match the things we are saying, then we are in serious danger of sabotaging the very things we are trying to say. If we do not make an attempt to practically live out the things we believe then our faith will simply become head-knowledge and we will be ineffectual in our attempts to reach out to others.
We need congruency in they way we talk about our faith and they way we live. We would be appalled if we saw someone behaving in the way that James describes in our passage. But are we not sometimes guilty of the same thing?
I know some people who really practice what they preach and they really make a big impact on the world. Mother Theresa (quoting St Francis of Assissi) said: "Preach the Gospel at all times - use words if necessary"
When we speak and act in a way that glorifies God then we will reach others.
