Don't Just Hear, Walk the Talk

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

(James 1:22)

Why would I go through all the years of medical school but never treat a single patient? Why would I go through the toil of law school but never take the bar exam ad practice law? Why would I buy a real expensive sports car, learn how to drive it but never take it out of the garage? Why would I sit in church, listening to a sermon every Sunday, then see people in real need but do nothing to help them? In every one of those cases I am wasting my time. Especially the last one. The Word of God is more than a book of quaint stories for our children. It is our instruction manual for life.

Why would I repent and get baptized, then just sit in a pew every Sunday and do nothing else? Jesus doesn’t want me to be his fan; he wants me to be his 24/7/365, on-fire-for-him, follower. He doesn’t want me standing on the sidelines and cheering; he wants me in the game, rolling up my sleeves and doing the work of the Kingdom. He doesn’t want me using prayers to tell him how I think things should happen. He wants me to be lifting up supplications for those people I care about.

I have to get up off my backside and do what Christ wants me to do. He says I must love God above everyone and everything else. That means God always comes first in my life, no matter what. He wants me to love my neighbor as I love myself. That means I take care of those as I have the means to help. If all I ever do is agree with the words of scripture and not do what it says, I only fool myself into believing I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I might just as well be a Buddhist or a Muslim for all the good I’m doing.

Don’t sit back and say you don’t know what to do. Are you saying you don’t have neighbors? Even in the event that you live in the middle of nowhere, there are still ways to show the love of Christ. There are missionaries that need supporting while they take the Word of God to the far corners of the earth. You can volunteer at your church. Every church would like to have more people willing to help with things like cleaning, teaching, leadership positions, and many others. Be a worker, not just a user of the church you attend.

Lord God in heaven, your name surpasses all other names. There is no one else to compare to your greatness. It is for the glory of your name that we do the good things we do, while we follow Jesus. If we ever become lax in doing the work of your kingdom, give us a kick in the butt to spur us on. If we ever become complacent in doing good deeds, make us feel guilty. Don’t let us deceive ourselves that we are living in your will if all we ever do is listen to a sermon every Sunday. You don’t want pew sitters only. You want us to be the ones who get their hands dirty in doing your work. Even if we’re not physically capable to do the heavy lifting kind of labor, there are still opportunities to serve you. By serving others, we are serving you. Show us those things that we can do based on our abilities. Some leaders are afraid to ask for help for fear of rejection. Give them the courage to ask for help when they need it. Give us the willingness to give them our help whenever we can. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen!