Articles > Marriage and Family: > Show me. Don't Tell Me.

Show me. Don't Tell Me.

"Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."¹

"There's a wonderful scene near the end of the movie 'My Fair Lady' in which Eliza Doolittle sings words that God must also sing. She says, 'Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words…. If you're in love, Show me!'"²

The reality is that words have power. However, if personal and are spoken only from the head and not the heart, they are meaningless. Or if they are used to impress, flatter, manipulate, or don't mean a thing to the one who speaks them, they can be worse than useless.

It's the same with our Christian witness. If we say we are a believer in Jesus Christ and don't act accordingly, what does it mean? It means nothing.

I recall seeing a poster on the wall of the office where I attended college. It read:

    The living truth is what I long to see,
    I cannot live on what used to be,
    So close your Bible and show me how
    The Christ you talk about is living now.

As Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."³

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be a man/woman of my word in that I always do what I say I will do, and always live so my actions, which speak so much louder than my words, will always bring glory to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. James 1:22 (NKJV).
2. Richard Drake, "Authorized Personnel" (sermon) .
3. Matthew 5:16 (NKJV).

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