Nodding In Agreement

I don’t know if you’re like me or not, but I have been known to listen to sermons, speeches, motivational talks, etc. and hear things I really like.  Nodding in agreement, I determine that I’m going to step up to the plate, do my share, take action, get things done!  I may even make a valiant effort to follow through on that commitment.  But then after a while, I find my enthusiasm starts to fade and soon I’m doing nothing that I intended to do.  Or, worse yet, I may think about doing it and just never even get started.  Why is it so difficult for us to stay the course, seeing things through to completion?  Is it a lack of belief that we can be successful?  Possibly a lack of faith?   

We need to learn the lesson that the Bible passage I’ve studied this week has.  That lesson is that faith with no action is nothing at all.  “My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show you really do have faith? Can this kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, you shouldn’t just say, ‘I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.’ What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!…..You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe…..Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!”  (James 2:14-17, 24 & 26 CEV)  

One of my daily devotionals this week broached this subject and the author (Chris Tiegreen) indicated that when we behave like that, it’s a form of self-deception.  James 1:22-24 (MSG) says: “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.”  

Mr. Tiegreen said this:  “It’s in the practice of faith that faith becomes real, not in the nodding of the head.  Agreement does not equal belief anywhere in the Bible.”  He continued:  “If we can let that sink in and make a difference in our lives, we can impact the world in powerful ways.”  He also said:  “No matter how genuine you feel your faith is, the world won’t know it until you live it.  And oh how it needs such a witness.  Real faith…when it’s visible, it’s powerful.” 

Our world today is in a real mess.  So many with so little, people floundering around lost in the haze of so much sin.  Can you imagine what a difference we could all make in the world if we would just read and listen to good words and then follow-through, doing in faith what would help others and improve conditions?  But, it really does need to be all of us – not just a few – if we want to see real changes. 

“Faith is the root of works.  A root that produces nothing is dead.”  Thomas Wilson

It’s time for us to get out of our comfort zones, stop just nodding our heads in agreement and do something beneficial for those around us.  Step up in faith and commit!

Written by Karran Martin – June 2, 2023