WALK YOUR TALK
You may have heard the expressions such as “talk is cheap” and “actions speak louder
than words.” It is easy to tell people things, but to prove it is a different story. Christianity is
the same way. You can tell everyone how spiritual you are, but to prove it is different.
I’ve heard it said that the number one cause of atheism in our country today is Christians
who confess Jesus with their lips but deny him with their lifestyles. Perhaps there is some truth
to that statement. Let’s face it, we have a world full of Christians who are hypocrites. They will
talk the talk when they are at church and around their church friends, but they don’t walk the
talk when they’re around their buddies or at work or wherever else in the world. It is so critical
that we live lifestyles which are an example, witness, and testimony to Christ, rather than one
that gives just another reason for someone to ridicule or deny Christ. Someone once asked the
question this way, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence
to convict you?
The Bible has a lot to say about the way we walk and talk. Using the phrase, “talking the
talk” we are in essence saying, “Is our conversation, or the way we communicate ourselves, or
the way we express or verbalize ourselves consistent with what we profess to be? Using the
phrase, “walking the talk” which is not a physical walk, but a spiritual walk, we are saying, “Is
our lifestyle, the way we live or behave, consistent with the way we profess it to be? It is said
that we are to take the gospel into the world, and if we have to, we are to use words.
The Epistle of James is the “how to” manual for the Christian life. It gives practical advice
on things like temptation, patience, boasting, quarreling, and prayer; and shows us that real
faith starts by living out what we believe. James 1:22 tells us we are supposed to not only hear
God’s word, but we are supposed to put it into practice. I ran across a quote a few months ago
that says: “Satan doesn’t care how much you read the Bible and how often you go to church as
long as you don’t apply it to your life.”
An important passage from the Scripture from James says in Chapter 2, verse 22 that faith
and actions work together; and you heard in verse 26, “as the body without the spirit is dead,
also faith without actions is dead.
You might be saying to yourself “Wait a minute, I always heard that one is saved by faith
alone. I can prove it from Scripture. Actions are not required.” You may have also heard that
you cannot earn your way into heaven. You might cite Ephesians 2:8-9 which states, “For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God; not as
a result of works.” And you are right. The key to the whole issue is “genuine or true faith.”
God expects us to have true faith if we are to be saved. A person who has true faith expresses
that faith through his or her actions. Actions are a natural response to true faith.
What are some ways we as Christians and believers can walk the talk?
Take seriously and adhere to what actions Jesus took in equipping his disciples, just as the
equipping applies to us today. Two ways include teaching the Greatest Commandment and
the Great Commission. The greatest commandment of course is to love God and love our
neighbors, and the great commission is to make disciples.
Another way is to practice the nine fruits of the Spirit that include: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
Still another way is to walk your talk is to follow the example that Jesus explained in what is
often referred to the “Final Judgment,” found in Matthew 25:31-46, and that is when he
returns to this earth he will judge everyone by how they served others in their lifetimes. He
judged people by whether they gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, received strangers into their homes, gave clothes to those in need of clothing, cared for those who were sick, and visited those who were in prison.
Paul’s letter to the Romans has several key passages about walking the talk. The first one I
would like to share with you is from Romans 12:1 which states: “And so, dear brothers and
sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Be a
living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship
him.”
The second passage is also from Romans 12:6-8 which states: “By his grace, God has given
you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift
is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to
encourage others, be encouraging. If it is to give, give generously. If God has given you
leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing
kindness to others, do it gladly.” This passage makes it clear that we are to put our faith
into action.
The final illustration supporting walking the talk comes from our United Methodist Hymnal
(Page #48) which addresses vows we all have taken if we joined the United Methodist
Church that states that we will support and reaffirm that we will support our church with
our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service. And at the 2008 General Conference
“witness” was added.
To wrap it all up, you can’t just talk the talk – you must be willing to walk the talk, not just
sometimes, but all the time. We can talk all we want about what we’ve done in the past; but
what is more important is what we are doing now and what we will be doing in the future.
Jesus challenges us to speak less about what we have done and do more as he would do.
My prayer for this message is: “Lord, we thank you for your words through Scripture that
help us live our lives in a way that is pleasing to you. We pray that you help us in our desires
and efforts to better serve you through our actions as Christians and as your children. AMEN.
Denny Wissinger
Central Bay District
Co-Lay Leader