Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Talking the Walk

Sunday in church, a real interesting statement was made:

Talk without action is heresy
Action without talk is mystery

I wrote it down so I could remember it.

It goes with some well known phrases:

"Talk is cheap!"
“If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk”
"Actions speak louder than words"
“Practice what you preach”
"Walk it like you talk it”
"Put your money where your mouth is"
"Don't let your mouth write checks your body can't cash"

Of course it is a twist on a couple of Bible verses from James:

But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? - James 2:20 (NET Bible)

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. - James 2:26 (NET Bible)


But it was the second part of the memory jogger that really hit me--"action without talk is mystery!" Interesting!

So you do something really cool for someone and don't do the second part--we need to tell them why! If we don't tell them why, they are left with a big thank-you but you've missed a valuable opportunity to do something even cooler--tell them who your are working for!

You don't have to puff yourself up with it all, be humble--the likelihood is that they were put in your path for a reason: so you could give them a piece of good news!

We seem to get wrapped up in our society with telling and directing and postulating good ideas--but we are pretty sloppy on the follow through! But when follow through happens, it is OK to make sure the beneficiary of the action knows the why for the action. Don't leave it a mystery! They need to know.

Anonymous deeds are great--if you are doing them for self-aggrandizement reasons. But if you are in the service of someone else (like God?)--humbly talk about it! Give the credit that is due. How else will someone understand the love that is waiting for them? Someone has to tell them!

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