After I wrote something about Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights movement yesterday, I saw no fewer than three news items about how people 55 and under probably have no knowledge of who he was and what the movement was.
Yes, it was probably one or two pages of an American history textbook that few read in school. Given the paucity of knowledge of history among Americans, I can believe that.
Another reminder of my aging.
Love is something you do,
Love is something you do,
Not always something that you feel,
But it’s real.
Love is something you do,
Love is something you do,
When Jesus Christ is living in you.
(One of the first Jesus movement songs I learned.)
This next wisdom teaching from James addresses what happens in your life once you have faith in Jesus.
Some English translations use the word “works,” while the NIV I’m using here translates as “deeds.” Works can be used by some theologians to describe religious acts, say as within the Roman Catholic Church. Reading James, I think he means what the song says—how you act toward other people. (Note: I have read way too many “faith vs. works” books. And I hate false dichotomies.)
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
I have come across many people who think that everything is completed at the faith part. Say the “sinner’s prayer”, and all will be well. That idea is ancient, as James addresses.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
I somewhat unwillingly bring Paul into this discussion. But check out his ultimate spiritual formation document—the Letter to the Romans. He follows the discussions of faith and grace with several chapters discussing—you guessed it—what follows. If you have the spirit of God within you, you will live a life as he describes concluding his letter.
James even provides two examples from his faith tradition to prove his point—Abraham and Rahab.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
If you have faith, what have you done today, small though it may have been, that reveals your faith?
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January has 31 days. The Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. Coincidence? I think not. (Well, since January was invented 1,000 years after the Proverbs was published, maybe it is.)
My longstanding tradition, as well as suggestion for others, consists of reading a chapter a day during January and reflecting on them to start the year off on the front foot.
The general letter of James, the brother of Jesus and early church leader, is written in the Wisdom tradition. It is pithy, short, advice as relevant today as 2,000 years ago.
Further, Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus is that of a Wisdom teacher.
This year’s focus for Wisdom January will include reading and reflecting upon James and the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7.
I may not be writing every day from them, but I promise to study them faithfully—again.
You could do worse than to devote about 10 minutes every morning or evening to these guides to Life with God.
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Let us consider humility. Not a word we can associate with today, living as we do influenced by Silicon Valley’s macho culture. A culture that affects women along with men along with adolescents.
When was the last time you (or I) admitted that you (or I) were wrong about something?
If it’s been longer than 30 days back, perhaps you (and I) have a problem.
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’Tis the day after Thanksgiving (in America), and how do you feel?
Did you eat do much that your sleep was disturbed?
My go-to for Christian advice on living (mixed with a dose of modern common sense) are the Desert Fathers. Yes, they were a weird group. Yet, they had such deep insights.
I consulted them about gluttony.
The desert fathers considered gluttony one of the first passions to be conquered because control over bodily appetites was seen as foundational to spiritual progress. They believed that if someone couldn’t master their appetite for food, they would struggle with more subtle temptations.
During the 4th-6th Centuries, fasting was commonplace among monks. However, many emphasized moderation. Eat only what is necessary to sustain life. Eat at set times (I write as I eye the basket of potato chips across the room where I’m writing this).
The fathers saw gluttony as slavery to bodily desires and a lack of self-control that would manifest in other areas. It is an obstacle to clear thinking and spiritual discernment.
The goal is freedom from obsession with food, not punishing the body.
Evagrius Ponticus, one of the most systematic of the desert fathers, listed gluttony first among the eight evil thoughts (which later became the seven deadly sins in Western Christianity), showing how fundamental they considered this struggle.
So, one large celebration meal with family and friends is hardly gluttony. It just makes you sick. Dwelling on the thought of food—well, that’s something to watch out for.
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My mom’s younger brother, Uncle Doyle, passed along to me his love of the comic strip Pogo. Walt Kelly was insightful and witty. In one cartoon, Pogo the possum notes, “Having lost sight of our objectives, we redoubled our efforts.”
Much software development happened because they could do it, not because it was good for society. Take for instance monitoring applications. Especially used during Covid when people had to work from home, managers could see how busy their employees were. Not necessarily how productive, but busy, for sure.
A recent The Pump Club Newsletter noted, “Busyness becomes a performance. We confuse activity for accomplishment because slowing down feels uncomfortable. Stillness can feel like failure.”
The reality? “But ask anyone who’s truly built something, whether their health, a business, a relationship, or a legacy. Progress doesn’t come from frantic motion. It comes from directed motion. Fewer things done with more intention. Effort pointed in the right direction.”
What are you working on? Health? Fitness? Prayer or meditative life? Service? Study?
One day at a time with intention doing what you need. Choose your direction, follow the path.
Movement can be a treadmill. Progress is a path. One keeps you occupied; the other gets you somewhere.
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“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
Thus opens the document we call the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah proceeds to speak to the kings (and the people) words that God gave him. He takes the next several paragraphs detailing the evil ways of the people of Judah (which had split with Israel thanks to the stupidity of Solomon’s son).
I’ll not document all that right now. We can translate to today the idea of what and how do we worship and acknowledge God. Is our worship of prayers and offerings consistent with the intent of God or is it not performed with the right orientation of the heart?
Let us look at the prescription that God offers followers spoken through Isaiah. Pay attention. Look at the verbs.
I am convicted—where have I learned to do good? Do I seek justice for everyone? How am I working to correct oppression? Where can I bring justice and peace to the oppressed of society?
Think on your own situation. You and I, we cannot do it all. But we can do something. What is it we can do today?
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I face false dichotomies in most areas of my thinking and writing.
My life’s work sometimes seems focused on dashing these dichotomies.
Usually when I am faced with either/or, I suggest what if either both or neither.
The three ideas dance with an intricate rhythm. Faith, Grace, Works.
What if—faith leads to the inward infusion of the Holy Spirit which manifests itself through our service, kindness, and generosity (works)?
I think that’s why James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.”
I think that is why Paul wrote the last chapters of his letter to the Romans. The letter didn’t end with grace. It ended with examples of acts that we would (should?) do because of our new relationship to God.
The same to us. Life didn’t end on some day that we were “saved.” We must continue living. And that living should be service, graciousness, generous.
The book lies before me on the desk,
I’ve often read those chapters of the famous sermon.
In the spirit of those before me,
I open and scan the pages with an explorer’s mind.
Open, curious, I know nothing,
Exploring the story, thoughts, teaching, responses.
I experiment, trying my thoughts against the text.
Explore, experiment. Finding nuggets of gold
In the stream of words from The Teacher.
This, then, forms the foundation of study.
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When you go skiing, the goal isn’t making it to the bottom once. What you really want is to make it a great day of many runs until the sun sets.
Similarly with life. It’s not just making it to the end. Or to make it to the end with the most toys. It’s making many runs until the sun sets.
And no matter who you are reading this, you have a few more runs before the sun sets. Get back on the lift and head back up.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 