Your Actions Speak Louder Than Your Words

I heard that statement a lot as a kid and would get frustrated when my mom would say it. She had a few sayings like that to remind me that talk was cheap. The recent question I posed on Facebook shows that mom must have done a good job drilling that into me. “Do you say what needs to be said, but don’t do what needs to be done?” It was just my simple reminder that our actions should equal what we say.

Living in the heart of the Christian Music Industry, it is an everyday event to run into someone famous. Franklin has a concentration of “big name” Christians and has been called the Mecca of the Christian Music Industry. The sad reality is, many of these “famous” Christians are not helping the name Christ when they step off the stage and out of the limelight. Their everyday lives make you question if they are the real deal or just someone using the industry to pull in a paycheck.

Here is recent Facebook post that makes this point “I want the world to know; although I don’t listen to Brit Nicole’s music, I have a lot of respect for her as a person…sadly, she is one of the few Christian artists who treats my wife with respect when she serves them at Starbucks”.

Now I am not trying to bash or take pot shots at Christian artists, but this post is a great reminder that the world is watching and not just the “famous” Christians. The world is watching every one of us, who claims the name of Christ, to see if we really live what we say we believe. I know I didn’t for many years and struggle with it to this day. I often live a self-centered life that put my wants way ahead of the needs of others.  But isn’t a self-centered life the exact opposite of what we are called to live?

Loving your neighbor as yourself is not just a good idea. It is a call for us to live what we say we believe each and every day of our lives. Thankfully, the friend whose status is posted above is a strong believer, but I cringe when think of the number of people who are looking to us for hope and don’t know Christ. Many of them are watching to see if Christianity is real and don’t find solid answers due to our lack of follow through. Now I don’t expect any of us to be perfect, but we have to stop using the excuse that we are just humans and are going to make mistakes.

When people look at your life, do they believe that you are the real deal? Is there evidence to back it up? Maybe it’s time we get a little harder ourselves and actually live what we say we believe. Maybe, just for today, our actions should be as loud as our words.