Throughout my life, my name and the word stubborn have often been used in the same sentence. I prefer to use the words determined or persistent, but stubborn and hard headed are the words others have chosen. I remember as a child my mother telling me, “I am tired of talking, I have talked till I am blue in the face.” I knew when I had pushed her that far, that I had better do what she wanted. This conversation usually came about cleaning my room and when she said those words, I knew it was time to clean. I would start to clean because I knew that she was done talking and she was about to start taking some actions. These actions usually involved one end of a switch or a fly swatter in her hand and the other end landing in an area between my lower back and the back of my knees. I learned at an early age that there is a difference between talking and acting.
In many movies we watch, including sports, action, and war movies, there is a moment where the main character will say something similar to: the time for talking is over; you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? Why is this important? The answer is because anyone can say they can accomplish something, but when it is time to accomplish that task, many cannot complete it. If a teacher took only the words of their students, how would they know if the students are really learning? That is why they give tests. The students must “do” the work and not just talk about it. Another reason it is important is because someone new might need to accomplish a task. An example is my high school football coach telling the other players and me that he had prepared us, taught us, and that we had even practiced how to win, but it was up to us, the players, to do this. Our coach had the experience, the talent, the desire, and the will to win, but he couldn’t play because he had graduated years prior to that moment. It was up to us, the players to take his knowledge and go perform to get the victory. We had talked and heard about the victory, but the time for talking and hearing was over, it was time to go out and do.
I believe that today, it is time for believers to quit just hearing and talking and time to start doing. We have sat in our pews and chairs under men and women that have told us for years how to have victory in our families and our communities. I believe God loves to hear people preaching and teaching His word, but I believe He gets more excited to see people DOING His word. The book of James chapter 1 and verses 22-25 tells us, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” This tells us that there is a blessing for those that are doing and not just hearing. The question I have today is, are we doing or just hearing?
The book of Matthew and the 7th chapter verses 24-27 tells us a story about two builders. In this story, we learn of two builders that have very different foundations to build on. The first builder, (Verse 24 and 25,) references a wise man that built on a rock. I find it interesting that these verses state, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” The wise man hears the sayings and DID them. The result of him doing the teachings of Jesus, is that even though the storm came, his house did not fall. When we are doers of the word, and put our trust, our actions, our faith in God, we will make it through the storms of life. We may be pushed to one side and then the other, but we will be like that tree that is planted by the water, we won’t be moved because our foundation, our roots, are in Him.
The opposite side of this is found in verses 26 and 27. These are words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew. “ And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” I find it very interesting that both men “HEARD” the teachings, but one did and one did not do the teachings. The one that did not was referred to as foolish and when the same storms came, he lost everything. He had no foundation.
If we were to be truly honest with our own selves, are we hearing and doing what the Bible is teaching us or are we just hearing and letting the words go through one ear and out the other? Are we allowing the words of the Bible to enter our hearts by acting on them or are we just shaking them off like a duck does water? In all honestly, we can all talk a big game and pretend we have super faith and trust Him in everything and put on a show in front of families and friends. Then we go face to face with a storm and forget everything we have been taught or read. Many of us are going through the hardest storms we have experienced in our lives. Every time we turn the tv or computer on we hear of trials and hard times. Many of us are facing storms in our individual lives. Financial uncertainty, various sicknesses, the loss of a loved one, family issues, and the uncertainty of tomorrow are all storms that we are either facing, have faced, or at some point in our lives may face. These storms are a part of this world, and being a Christian does not prevent us from going through these storms. However, we don’t have to go through them alone for He is with us. He promised that He would never leave us. With Jesus on our side we can get through these storms and just like the wise man, our houses will be standing when the storm is over. It is time for us as Christians to stop just talking and hearing and time for us to put our words into action. It is time to quit being hard headed and time to ACT. If we want to see blessing on our families, our communities, our country, and our world, it is time for Christians to start being doers of the word and not just hearers. Let us start today, being doers.
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