They Say That Talk Is Cheap
“Well done is better than well said.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are so many people who talk a good game when it comes to living the faith. They know all the rules. They tell people what they should be doing. They encourage others to live the faith as completely as possible. But they, themselves, never seem to lift a finger when it comes to doing the works of the Lord. They are more word than deed.
Ben Franklin would shake his head at them and say with the simplicity that was his style: “Well done is better than well said.” Franklin was full of pithy sayings. But Franklin was also full of great deeds including the invention of the lightning rod, bifocals, swim fins, the Franklin stove, an improved catheter, the armonica, and others. He did not rest on his laurels. He continued to find ways to improve the livelihood of all.
We are not to rest on our laurels. We should not be pleased with the fact that we were baptized and confirmed. We should not be content with helping a few people from time to time. We should be looking for ways, at all times, to improve the livelihood of others. The best way to do that is by embracing our faith as completely as possible and then living it.
We can talk about the faith, there’s nothing wrong with that. We can teach the faith. That is exemplary as well. However, unless we are living the faith, our words will be empty and meaningless.
Jesus did not just say. Jesus did. He did completely as well, even to the point of embracing the cross because He said greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends. He called us His friends and, therefore, actually laid down His life for us.
Don’t just say what must be done. Get “down and dirty” and do the work of the Gospel. It is only in doing so that we prove ourselves to be loyal sons and daughters of our God. Only then will our words bear fruit through the action in which we engage.
FAITH ACTION: Don’t speak about the works of the Lord today. Do the works of the Lord.