Word and Action in Harmony
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of humanity.”
I knew a minister once who was a champion for social issues. She spoke strongly for equal rights and care for the poor. Her dedication to the cause was so strong she could, occasionally, come across as a bit judgmental. Yet, she worked with zeal, so people offered her respect, even when she was a bit off-putting. Sadly, words are not always the same as actions.
The social champion minister went to Mexico with mutual friends of mine, and upon their return, the friends were horrified to describe their vacation. The minister treated “the help” like slaves. She was harsh, demanding, and thought nothing of belittling those who did not live up to her high expectations. The minister’s future words on equality and justice issues fell hollow to those who learned of her exploits south of the border.
Want to learn the soul of a person? Watch his/her actions. Curious about your soul? Reflect on your treatment of others. None of us are blameless. The minister’s sins are more glaring than most, but I only share her experience as a clear example. Each of us has moments when our words are more reputable than our actions. Our Christian call is to allow our comments on faith to match our efforts in a challenging world.
Ayodeji Awosika, in his article, “One Tiny Observation That Can Tell You a Lot About Someone,” affirms, “I pay attention to the way people in my real life engage with service staff and I use it to determine how much I trust or want to associate with them. You don’t have to be extremely cheery, polite, or over-the-top nice. But you do have to treat them like human beings. And bonus points if you always go out of your way to show them, love.” Jesus used his words carefully, knowing that his commitment to God required his actions to match those words.
Today, ask God to give you the wisdom and integrity to match your words with your actions. Comments on injustice and ethics are valuable, but only if our efforts have integrity. Pray for the courage and determination for your words and actions to act in Divine harmony. When you do, your integrity will remain, and your words will retain merit; yet maintain grace because, in the end, only Jesus was able to unify word and action in this life perfectly.