Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Faithful Deeds Change Lives




What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. - From James 2:14-26


Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2



I’m in this time of my life where I am really learning the importance of faithful action in a practical way. Sure, I grew up with the knowledge that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. My parents taught me to keep asking seeking and knocking, that if I asked for something and believed I would receive it, then I would receive it. They also taught me to work hard and do all that I can do to get what I want.

All that is fine and dandy in theory… It sounds beautiful and nice, like a ray of sunshine. But what happens when you get to the real world?


The real world used to be very discouraging. I worked hard for the longest time but never seemed to reap the proper rewards (in my opinion). Is life really supposed to be about spinning our wheels without getting traction? What am I doing wrong?  How can I progress to the next level of achievement and growth?

I was frustrated for a long time, really until about a year ago. It was at that time that I decided to take small leaps of faith.

I decided to invest my time in things that I felt God telling me to do. I participated in a mentorship program at work that meant extra work without extra pay. I started writing this blog because I felt that I had to even though I knew it would take a lot of time that would take me away from other things that I enjoyed like hanging out with friends and capoeira.

I didn’t see what the rewards would be of those actions but I said “well… ok God… you said to have faith so I will have faith. I hope this works out”.

And let me tell ya… it has. I got promoted at work and even though the writing doesn’t have me sitting on a beach sipping margaritas living the lush life I have received so many blessings through this process.

It is true that when we sow we will reap, but we must sow faithfully. We have to really believe in what we are working towards. My biggest problem was that I didn’t believe because I wasn’t working towards my own goals. I was working towards someone else’s.

A decent part of building faith is having a sense of direction. Even if you don’t know exactly where you are headed, knowing why you are doing the work is key to having the faith necessary to inspire a change in your life.

Otherwise you’ll just go through the motions doing the work, like I did, and get nowhere fast.

What are some things that you have always wanted to do? I bet that if you dedicated time each day toward taking even one step in the direction of achieving those goals you would start to see them materialize in your life.

When I took small steps God made giant leaps. I wonder what will happen now that I have the courage to take giant leaps…

2 comments:

  1. I love the book of James. This book may have not been an original book of the bible, its being in it just seems so necessary.

    I am a strong believer of "actions speaking louder than words." Words are though quite powerful. Coinciding actions with words increases their power exponentially.

    For me, those whose intentions are forthright will always be willing to standby their words and actions. And if ever questioned or asked to clarify, with strength and definition, in action and word, they will provide an honest declaration of their belief or intent.

    If I say love for me means, mmm-holding hands, and I never hold your hand. Then my words and action don't match.

    Saying you have faith, then taking leaps in faith (whatever leaps they may be for you) quite an honest declaration I'd say.

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  2. I feel you on actions speaking louder than words. The thing that I love about the book of James is that he makes that argument over and over again. A lot of folks think that Christianity is all about faith and that we can sit back on our butts and wait for our Godly genie in a bottle to grant our wish. But James does a great job of communicating the truth that our faith is shown through our actions.

    I'm not sure that anyone can claim to believe in anything that they are not willing to act upon.

    I've been thinking about that a lot for the past few months.

    Thanks for the great comment as always!

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