Words? Or Actions?

He must have been reading Paul:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 KJV)

Or maybe James:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (James 2:17-18 KJV)

The ‘charity’ Paul used means the spiritual love between God and man. As Matthew Henry puts it:

love in its fullest and most extensive meaning, true love to God and man, a benevolent disposition of mind towards our fellow-Christians, growing out of sincere and fervent devotion to God.

Without agape, our activities in His name is of no profit. These activities, these works, are an outward sign of an inward change in our lives when we give God the allegiance He is due. No works does translate into no faith, as James so plainly put it.

Often people will respond with an acknowledgement that God exists, but decline to place their faith in His promises, in His plans for an abundant life. Some believe with their mind, but will not entrust their eternity with Him. James wrote of this, too:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19 KJV)

Take a look at Satan’s temptation of Christ in Matthew 4:1-11. He kept saying “If” about Jesus being the Son of God, but he knew. That separates us from angels – they know God exists. Just as men, though, some chose to deny God’s will in their lives and were denied access to Him. The choice was theirs, just as it is ours.

How much time is there for us to make that choice? We have no idea.

Friday in Lewisville, Texas, there was an industrial accident – a utility company broke a gas line. Before repairs could be completed, gas accumulated in a duplex that was obliterated in an explosion. Before that accident, how long would we have thought the house would have remained standing?

We have no idea. We are not promised tomorrow. We are not promised an hour from now. We have only this moment in time.

What we do with it becomes what we preach. What we do with the decision about God is what we do with our lives. Do our lives reflect what is written in His word?

What do we want others to know about our faith? How do we tell them? Aren’t our actions worth much, much more than words?