My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18
The practice of substituting words for deeds is not
something new, for the Apostle John saw it in his day and warned against it.
James also had something to say about the vice of words
without deeds: “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body;
what doth it profit?”
We settle for words in religion because deeds are too
costly. It is easier to pray, “Lord, help me to carry my cross daily” than to
pick up the cross and carry it. But since the mere request for help to do
something we do not actually intend to do has a certain degree of religious
comfort, we are content with repetition of the words.
What then? Shall we take a vow of silence? Shall we cease
to pray and sing and write and witness until we catch up on our deeds?
I say no, that would not help. While we have breath we
must speak to men about God and to God about men.
To escape this snare of words without deeds, let us say
nothing we do not mean. Break the habit of conventional religious chatter.
Speak only as we are ready to take the consequences. Believe God’s promises and
obey God’s commandments. Practice the truth so that we may with propriety speak
the truth. Deeds give body to words. As we do acts of power our words will take
on authority and a new sense of reality will fill our hearts!
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