Louder than Words

The peh Factor

“Seeking balance in a polarized world”

I have stopped calling myself an athlete.  I used to be an athlete or so I thought until I met Jon.  Jon had played professional basketball for over a decade.  He also had played on one our Olympic teams.  He had made a good living bouncing and shooting and defending the 29.5-inch orb.  When our lives intersected, he had been out of the paid sport world for a few years but I discovered that he was still following the intense physical regiment that kept him in shape.  He was an athlete even though he wasn’t playing. 

I remember the day someone recognized Jon sitting on the sideline of a high school basketball game.  It was during pregame warmups.  They tossed him the ball and asked him to shoot.  He did…  from the sidelines…  well out of the 3-point range…  SWISH.  He still had it.  An athlete.

For me, I was an athlete once upon a time.  I played baseball and football and a bit of basketball.  For an amateur I played them well.  I practiced.  I trained.  I competed.  I could well have been called an athlete.  But now, my actions do not allow the definition to be applied.  Age has caught up to me.  I can look backwards and reminisce about having been an athlete but now I am a “walker.”  15 to 20 miles a week is my norm and a year and a half ago Terri and I walked 175 miles in 13 days. 

So, what is this all about? 

The Sunday’s lesson for Mother’s Day was that if the confrontation of the religious leaders and Jesus in John 10: 22ff. Jesus had just called himself “The Good Shepherd.”  He had just talked about his relationship with “The Father,” God.  Then he made a statement that infuriated the leaders to the point of their picking up stones to stone him on the spot for the capital offense of blasphemy.  The text reads,

The Jews interpreted the underlined statement as meaning that Jesus was declaring himself to be God.  For them it was blasphemy, a crime worthy of death.  But, before they could carryout their execution, Jesus asked them a pointed question.

32 …“I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?”

He carried this question forward a few verses later when he clarified,

37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

 Actions…  Works…  Behaviors…  Attitudes…  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had taught, “By your works you shall know them.”  Matthew 7:15-20. 

I am no longer an athlete.  The actions of my life reveal the truth about me.  I am a walker.

So, what does this have to do about anything beyond Paul’s introspection? 

We live in a day of wild rhetoric, rhetoric that the 24/7 news cycle can spread faster and more broadly than ever before in human history.  People can say just about anything they want, even blatant lies, and get away with it.  One cable network presents a different set of facts from another even going to the extent of calling the other a fabricator or a liar, propagator of a big lie.  The European Center for Populism Studies attributes the origin of the modern version of this thought to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, where he said,

“’The great masses of the people…will more easily fall victim to a big lie than a small one,’ and denotes where a known falsehood is stated and repeated and treated as if it is self-evidently true, in hopes of swaying the course of an argument in a direction that takes the big lie for granted rather than critically questioning it or ignoring it.”   

Politically, both parties appear to be guilty of this style of speech.  Many people could be placed into this category as well.  Even the Jews that gathered around Jesus may have accused him of making this kind of statement…after all, they took what he was saying as a ‘Big Lie’ when he claimed to be one with the Father.  They were afraid if he made this statement enough times and made it in a way that seemed to be ‘self-evidently true,’ the population would believe him. 

Jesus’ response was instructive then and gives us direction today.  In essence Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”  He said, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.  For which of these do you stone me?”  He said, “If you don’t believe my words then believe me because of my works.”  He could have equally said, “Talk is cheap.  Actions speak louder than words.”  I would add my summation that, “When words and works compliment each other there is a powerful sense of authority that confirms the integrity of a person’s life.”  

As Christians living in a very volatile world, a world where we are blasted day in and day out with well scripted words, we need to start looking at the actions of others as well as ourselves.  I am reminded of the words from the Book of James chapter 1 where he said,

22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves…26If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Actions speak louder than words.

I am reminded of a question I heard once upon a time.  It was the conclusion of a play I was doing with a youth group back in the day.   It asked, “If you were brought to trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Actions speak louder than words. 

As Christians (and as citizens as well) we must listen to what others are saying.  Listening is a sign of respect and after all, God gave us two ears and one mouth…

As Christians (and citizens as well) we also must observe behaviors.  We need to do so within ourselves and our Christian community.  Do our actions demonstrate the love for God and love for neighbor that our faith demands?  So often the love of which the scriptures speak is not a noun describing a person, place, thing or idea but rather a verb describing an action.  Although no one knows the exact origin of the following phrase (often attributed to St. Francis or Mother Theresa) I believe the sentiment is a good reminder for all of us:

Preach the Gospel and if you must, use words.

Or, as the Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:17:

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Actions speak louder than words.    Paul