By Allen White
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21:28-32
Back in Bible college, we would often be called to moments of commitment in our chapel services. Usually those appeals would go like this, “Everyone who will commit to pray for this missionary every day, please rise to your feet.”
My friends would hop to their feet. I would sit in my chair. Scornfully, my friends would whisper, “You’re not going to pray for this missionary?”
I would whisper back, “I probably will, but you won’t pray for him every day.” By the next week, we’d all forgotten the poor missionary’s name.
Most of us desire to be better than what we are. We aspire to be good husbands/wives, parents, employers/employees, and most of all children of God. We aspire to a lot. But, what counts is not who we hope we are or even who we say we are. What matters is who we really are, and what God is doing in our lives.
In God’s economy, the redeemed lives of the worst of sinners have far more Kingdom potential than the well-educated, overly articulate folks who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. Better to shut up and do nothing, than over-promise and under-deliver. What’s better still is to promise nothing and then deliver anyway.
If we say we believe in the power of prayer, how often do we pray? If we say we believe God will provide for our needs according to His riches in glory, how much do we worry? If we say God’s grace is sufficient, how much do we beat ourselves up over things in the past that we can do nothing about?
What we do is what we actually believe. Not what we say we believe. Not what we think we believe. But, what we actually do.
If believers profess to a creed, then don’t live it out, we are essentially what Craig Groeschel calls in his book, Christian Atheist. We say we believe in God, but we act like we don’t.
If you believe in the power of prayer, then stop and pray right now. If you believe God will provide, then ask for God’s peace every time you start to worry. If you’re continually dogged by regrets, ask God to cleanse your mind. Devour God’s Word and hear the Truth about who God thinks you are.
When someone asks for a commitment on the spur of the moment, the easiest and best answer is “No” or maybe “I’ll think about it.” Unless your actions can commit to a “Yes,” you’ll only make a mess.
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