Actions Speak Louder than Words

Luke 6:43-49

⁴³“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ⁴⁶“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

This morning before work I went to my local polling place and dutifully registered my vote for the presidential primary. While I stood there staring at my ballot, this passage went through my mind and I had to ask myself (again) what kind of fruit am I witnessing from these candidates? I’m sad to report I couldn’t come up with much by way of good fruit. In fact, some of the reported fruit is completely rotten. It was a difficult moment because I take our right to vote in the U.S. seriously. People have actually given up their lives to grant me that freedom. But there it was – Scripture in my brain helping me determine where to leave my mark.

Mark Twain is credited with coining the phrase “Actions speak louder than words but not nearly as often.” He must have been a student of the Word of God, because that sums up Jesus’ message here fairly succinctly. People watch us and see if our words match our actions, but those actions make a far greater impact. That is particularly true of children who won’t hesitate to point out those inconsistencies.

In this passage Jesus gives us three examples living the inconsistent life; sight versus blindness, good fruit versus bad, and a solid foundation versus weak ones. With those three analogies stacked on top of one another, one cannot miss the point. If you aren’t living it, then we have to question what’s going on in your heart. We’ve already been warned about judging another’s motives and heart, but these words point straight at us. We don’t get to judge others, but we do get to stand in judgment over our own actions and words. Is there consistency there? It’s a big question and each of has to face it honestly.

Which brings up another point; are we self-deluded sometimes? Are we able to see the times when our actions don’t correspond to our words? I pray that the Holy Spirit would daily work truth into my heart and mind so that I can see where I am the hypocrite or where my actions are incongruent with my words. We do damage to the Kingdom when we live that way and Jesus warns His followers in the strongest terms to model our lives after Him rather than our own ideas. It’s a daily struggle, but well worth the effort.