I admire eloquent speakers and those quick on their feet. My husband and my dad have those gifts. Each is a skilled story teller, and I love a good story.
But a few people are so loquacious that my brain has a difficult time keeping up! Their verbosity overwhelms me. And while they seem to have endless ideas, I wonder whether they plan to follow through on any of them.
Empty chatter can overflow into our spiritual lives as well.
In Matthew 6:7 Jesus warns us,
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”
In worship, we can sing hours of love-laced lyrics to our Lord, but fail to act on them.
In the musical “My Fair Lady,” Eliza Doolittle reaches exasperation one evening. Reacting to the character Freddy’s “wordy” love song she vents, “Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words!” Then she breaks into the song, “Show Me!”
And although I know God’s patience far exceeds ours, I’ve sometimes wondered whether He’s ever felt like responding with Eliza’s lyrics to some of our long-winded worship (love) songs.
Don’t talk of stars burning above; if you’re in love, show me! Tell me no dreams filled with desire; if you’re on fire, show me! Don’t talk of love lasting through time. Make me no undying vow. Show me now!
John echoes this sentiment in 1 John 3:18 by exhorting us to put action to our faith:
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
Jesus gave us a vivid illustration in Matthew 7:24-27 of the benefits of putting what we profess into action.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Although actions can never save us, they give evidence of our faith and bolster our profession. Our actions are the fruit of the root of faith.
So if we’re wise, we’ll heed the spirit of Eliza Doolittle’s song, and the words of Jesus’s parable, by building our lives upon the truth of God’s Word and acting on our faith, rather than merely talking about it.
God gives us the exciting privilege of participating in what He is doing in the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit. (i.e. Luke 10). How can we reduce our worship to mere words, when he is drawing us into an action-filled life of worship that impacts the world?
How insightful! I’ve always believed in the old saying, “actions speak louder than words” – and you’ve put it into a Biblical context. Thank you, Carrie.
KM