“Most good things have already been
said far too many times and just need to be lived.” ― Shane Claiborne
We all
know people that talk a lot more than they act.
This can be characterized by the old saying, “their bark is worse than
their bite.” For years I have been told
that the church, any church, is full of hypocrites, and I believe that is true.
That
is where I find the quote we began with comes to life. Some things have been said thousands of
times, but there are few people following through. In fact I have noted in our community, and in
others, that there are many Christians who say the right thing and do nothing
about it.
This
is clearly seen with the people who acknowledge the needs of their community,
but they do little to nothing about it.
We know there are countless single teenage moms, but nothing gets done
to help. We know there is a problem with
prescription medicine, but not much is done to battle the miss use of it. Even more, we hear of parents who allow their
children to go to the bathroom cabinet where medicines are kept and choice what
they need.
There
is a problem. When our saying out does
our doing, the balance, or better yet, the imbalance begins to take on a life of it’s own.
Matthew 15:8 NLT
These people
honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me.
As we
begin a new week I ask that we examine our words and allow our actions to speak
much louder than our words. Find someone
to help. Practice ARK’s (acts of random
kindness) where you “pay it forward” by paying for something or doing something
extra kind for someone else with no thought of getting anything in return.
That
is rare in our day and time. People are
always out for the “what do I get out of this” question. The better question is “how can I give myself
to serve the bet for others?” Our words
match our actions when we put action with what we say.
Think
about it a little more. Losing ourselves
and our motives in the good of other people takes us places that the natural
man doesn’t understand. Giving what we
have to help other people who cannot help us in return is a big deal. How can we best say less and do more?
1 John 3:17 NLT
If someone
has enough money to live well and sees
a brother or sister in need but
shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
Mark 10:45 NLT
For even the
Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve others and to give his life as a
ransom for many.
Stop
thinking about what you get out of helping others. Simply help others. Stop telling people what they ought to do and
show others what they can do. Serve
others. Don’t worry about what you get,
your pay or what honor you think you ought to get. Serving someone else with no thought of
getting anything for yourself may be the strongest statement you will ever
make.
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