There is an old saying that states “actions speak louder than words”. We have all heard it but to we really all believe it? More importantly do we live our lives in a way that our actions speak the message of Christ? This is something I have felt challenged over during the past year. It is something that God has really been teaching me and dealing with in me. Our biggest witness is our day to day lives and how we deal with others during the more mundane parts of our day. It’s the attitude we have with the lady checking us out at the gas station, how we handle when we get cut off on the highway, and how we treat people who aren’t in our “social circles”.

 

Many of the teachings of Jesus revolved around the hypocrisy of simply saying religious things and not following through to do them. As a matter of fact, the very religious people of the day, the Pharisees, were even referred to as both a brood of vipers and as white-washed tombs by Jesus himself. The thing I love about Jesus the older I get and the more I read his teachings, is that He was not afraid to call it as it was. He never shied away from pointing out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. However, he was also quick to extend grace to those who desperately needed it. As I have been thinking through all that God has been dealing with within me, I have seen times where I have been extended great grace, as well as times that hypocrisy has been shown within me. As I walk through the four areas that I have found actions speaking louder than words, I hope that you will take a moment to pause and honestly reflect on your own actions. I know that for me, as I reflected, and continue to reflect, I see some areas where I have had success, as well as areas that I still need lots of work.

In order to more easily remember the four areas I will be using the acronym ACTS.

A- Acceptance of others

Growing up, I was probably one of the most judgemental people that you would meet. Now, mind you, you likely wouldn’t realize that I was that way, however, I judged people based on everything imaginable; what they wore, what music they liked, where they lived, even which church they went to. Jesus adamantly spoke against this kind of attitude. This couldn’t be more clearly stated than it is in Matthew 7:1-2. I especially love the Amplified version of this verse:

7 “Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]. 2 For just as you[hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure[used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.

What a terrifying thought. As harshly we pass judgement on others, we will be judged in the same manner.  Jesus never judged the people he came in contact with. I think specifically about the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8. She was caught red-handed. However, rather than condemning her Jesus extended a hand of grace. Now, he never excused the sin, after all he told her to go and sin no more, but he did give a loving hand of grace.

C- Compassion for others

Jesus tells a parable that so many of us are familiar with that we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable a man is robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Time after time, “religious” men pass him by without as much as a glance of compassion. Finally a Samaritan man, who would have been considered an outcast in that day, had compassion on the man and helped him.

I have heard it said that the church is the only institution on earth that shoots it’s wounded. We are often quickest to pass judgement on each other. However, when we fall, the church (which is all of us who are followers of Christ) should be the first place to forgive and rehabilitate. Churches have lost members over internal fighting, hypocrisy, and wounds. We should be making allowances for the shortcoming of others, rather than running away from each other the moment we feel offended.

We also need to be careful how we treat others when we are the one who is hurt. Do we lash out when someone hurts us? Are we quick to get defensive and rude when things don’t go our way? Do we chew out or treat rudely the teenage kid that is serving us at a fast food restaurant because he got our order wrong? Do we gossip about our boss at work because he or she doesn’t listen to every bit of advice we give them? Jesus teaches us to do the opposite. He states in Matthew 5:38-48:

38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

T- Togetherness with others (especially those not like us)

This is a challenging one for many of us, myself included. We like the comfort of being like people who live in a similar way, have the same hobbies, and believe like we do. We form friendships around that concept, and raise our children to not hang around kids we don’t feel comfortable with. We often isolate ourselves from people who don’t act or think like we do. We look for schools for our children and shop for houses based on that criteria.

My judgemental upbringing often makes this an area of challenge for me even to this day. However, I think back about 9 years to the first time I had actually met a refugee. I was teaching summer school the year before I officially started as a teacher. I was teaching kids 1st-5th grade from Burma who knew little to no English. My assistant was also a former refugee from Burma. That experience was so eye-opening to me. Those kids were so sweet and my assistant would tell me stories of his home country that were unimaginable. My heart broke for the refugees. It had been so easy for me to pass judgement over them when I had never met one. However, when I got into the trenches my heart was softened for those people. My time working with those kids taught me a little about the heart of Jesus.

Jesus did the same thing. He didn’t hang out only in the temples and avoid the trenches. No, he jumped head first into those trenches and did life with the people that most religious leaders avoided. Everyone from prostitutes to tax collectors to lepers. No one was unwelcome when Christ was around. Do we present ourselves that way?

S – Service toward others

This may be one of the most important things that Jesus showed us during his time on earth. The king of the world chose to humbly serve his disciples by washing their feet. He served his followers by time and time again feeding the multitudes. He served the sick and hurting by healing them. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This verse always challenges me because I want to follow without the denying and especially without the taking up a cross thing. I want to be a follower of Christ without the whole sacrifice thing. That isn’t what Jesus calls us to do though.

Whenever missionaries come around I am always challenged. They often start out having had a perfectly fine “American Dream” type of life. Yet, for the cause of Christ, they turned their life upside down to serve Him. I don’t by any means think that everyone is called to do that. However, maybe we should make a bigger effort to serve the people God has placed in our lives. Maybe that means volunteering somewhere or perhaps it means simply serving the person at work who you really don’t like. We have all been placed in our own mission fields for such a time as this.

Final Thoughts

Our actions really do speak loudly. Whether you are standing in line at the grocery store, driving down the highway, or standing behind a pulpit, we are all preaching a sermon, whether we realize it or not. The way we handle ourselves during adversity speaks loudly. How we treat others outside the four walls of a church building means so much more than we even realize. My prayer is that as we all grow in our faith, our walk would also mature. I want people to know that I am a Christian without a word.

D.L. Moody said it perfectly when he wrote in his Bible. “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.”