My brother once told me about a friend he had, named Dirk. His nickname for this man was "Dirk - the unbelievable!"
Dirk would tell my brother stories, like "Once I was behind a car that was stopped at a red light. The light turned green, then red, then green again! The car didn't move, a woman was in there putting on her make-up! So I got out of the car and I broke both her head lights with a hammer!"
Wow, I guess you don't mess with Dirk!
So as he was telling this story, my brother pointed to some balloons on display and said "Hey Dirk, go pop those balloons!"
"No way, man"
How can a man who would take a hammer to a stranger's head lights be too timid to pop a balloon on a sidewalk display?
Because by his words Dirk would have us believe he was one thing, but by his actions he was clearly not that person.
We have a word for that - poser.
I was reading James this morning, he raises this point.
"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." James 2:13-17 (NIV)
Dead faith, that is a scary thing.
It is so easy to say we believe, it is so easy to speak those words. But how do we act? What do our actions speak to those around us? What do our actions say about ourselves?
James goes on to say:
"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." James 2:18-19(NIV)
To say we are Christians, to claim identification with Jesus Christ, to shout about the Bible and our morals on Facebook is one thing.
But what do our lives really look like? What do our actions say about what we truly believe, about who we truly are?
Are we posers when it comes to our faith?
