“If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” — James 2:16-17

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Some athletes talk about how they love the game so much they’d play it for free and don’t care about the money. Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles actually did it.

Long donated all of his game checks last season, so he was truly playing for free. The first six went to fund scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville, Va., and the remaining 10 went to organizations — located in the cities where he’s played (Philadelphia, Boston and St. Louis) — that work to promote educational equality. Instead of just saying something, Chris Long took action.

Both James and John (1 John 2:5-6) stress the importance of actions. As Christians, what we do and don’t do matters. Our actions should be consistent with what we believe. A belief in Jesus comes with a charge to obey God’s commands, which include loving the people we interact with every single day. The best way to show our faith is authentic is by loving those people in our lives who are hard to love.

When we are in a position where we are struggling to love someone, we can embrace that situation as an opportunity to show our relationship with Christ is real. Plus, we can deepen our own faith through that process. There are going to be times when we fail, but our goal should always be to make sure what we say and how we act line up with each other.

— Joshua Doering

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