Thoughts Without Action

Ideas are easy. Change is hard.

My husband and I were talking about this the other day, as I contemplated why we balance each other out so well. I said—and I’d been giving it some thought—that one of the things I most appreciate about our relationship is that he holds me to my word and makes me actually put action to my ideas. He looked at me like I was a little crazy, because this is one of his strengths, and he’s always baffled by people who don’t just do what they say.

But I have to think I’m not alone in this, so hopefully sharing my own struggle will help someone else.

It’s so easy for me to talk about an idea, to muse my way through it, to philosophize and theorize. Whether it’s a discussion about true equality and how it has to begin in the heart or, frankly, an experiment to try in my store, I’ve found I always tend to do the same thing: think that by putting words to it, I’ve done it.

Sadly…no. It doesn’t work this way. Yes, putting words to it can in fact change my heart and my perspective. But until I take those words and put action to them, what have I really accomplished?

I guess this is where that talk the talk/walk the walk saying comes from. We say all the right things about loving our neighbors and being filled with Christ…but when it comes right down to it, we’re more likely to love ourselves and be filled with anger. We say that Christ’s sacrifice is the costliest gift ever given, but we’re still happy to give that away freely and cling to our precious, hard-earned dollars with both fists, or spend them on our own luxuries rather than someone else’s needs—because while we say everything is God’s, what we mean is that ultimately He may own it, but I’ve earned this, it’s mine, so I’ll give Him His ten percent do what I please with the rest.

We say we put Him first. But what we really mean is first after ourselves and our families.

I know I’ve talked about a lot of this before, but it’s still something I struggle with. Even after I’ve made a decision about something, that deciding is the easiest part for me. Doing it is HARD. Even if I firmly believe it’s the best thing. Even if it’s what I know God is calling me to.

It’s easy to say we can’t cling to anger; it’s hard to actually put it aside and offer grace instead.

It’s easy to say our days our His; it’s hard to get up day after day and actually listen for His direction in our every moment.

It’s easy to say we’re going to seek true community; it’s hard to remember, through the clutter of our daily lives, to pick up the phone or the greeting cards or carve out an extra hour to spend with someone.

It’s easy to say we’re Christians; it’s SO HARD to actually be “like Christ.”

I have to remind myself frequently of what He actually did:

• He ignored politics and focused on cleaning out the hypocrisy in the church
• He ignored a lot of the wealthy, together, A-list types and focused on the sinners, the diseased, the homeless, the outcast.
• He loved those who were hurting.
• He mourned those who had turned their backs on the Truth.
• He taught that following the rules wasn’t enough, you had to go deeper, down to the heart of a matter, and do the right thing for the right reasons.
• He gave up the comfortable so that He could teach others what it meant to carry a cross day by day.
• He sought the Father’s will above His own earthly one.
• He was never ashamed to admit His purpose, His calling.
• He asked the hard questions and would do and say whatever He must to challenge someone to look deep in their own hearts.

Am I doing those things? Really, truly doing them, or just talking about them?

I know most of my posts in recent months and years have at the heart been focusing on this—on really evaluating our own motivations and then deciding to #BeBetter, to put action to the words. Because this is something I know I need to constantly address. This is a weak spot for me. But I really have been blessed with a husband who has his own faults, sure, but has this strength to shore up mine. And that’s what I hope we can be for each other, too. A community of people who want to be more than whitewashed tombs, as Jesus would say—pretty on the outside, but holding death within. A community of people who encourage each other, exhort each other, edify each other, and help each other be true Christians. Truly like Christ.

So…thanks for being on this journey with me. Thanks for the words of encouragement you send, that let me know I’m not alone in this struggle to be who I think I am. We all know very well this isn’t a journey with an earthly destination we can actually reach. We’re never “there.” Never in a place we’re meant to remain. But if ever we’re asked the question, “Are you where you want to be in your faith walk?” I pray we can say this in all honesty:

“I’m where I need to be today. But it’s not where I’ll need to be tomorrow.” Ever upward, my friends. Ever onward. Ever closer to Him.