Faith and Works

As many of you know, I was a member of the Service Ministry on Doulos, so that meant a lot of service project planning and attending, so I thought the topic of service/deeds would be appropriate for me to write about. So there’s my little introduction, here we go.

James 2:14-17 says “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him “Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

This topic is brought up quite often within the Church. Therefore, it seems as though a lot of pressure is put upon Christians to do good works. Christians know that “good deeds” are the “right” thing to do, so they either choose to perform these things because it’s what is expected of them, or they choose to not because they think that their own agenda is more important, and they’re already “right” in their mindset, so they don’t need to perform acts of service. As for me– a leader in service– I, at times, felt that it was my duty to attend service projects, so that was an extra push for me to get up on that Saturday morning and go do something for the community. Well there’s nothing wrong with a little external motivation to keep you doing the things you should be doing. But the act of performing good deeds is about the mindset you have when doing them. Some may feel as though they must get crackin’ on the community service in order to “save” their faith because of this verse (James 2:14-17), but that’s not the right approach. You shouldn’t sign up for service projects because you think it’s your obligation to do so or because you feel like others may question the sincerity of your faith if you don’t. You should see every opportunity to show love onto others as just that– an opportunity. “Deeds” aren’t just offical events that Pastor Ben announces on Sundays. Deeds– small or big– are little pieces of God’s love that you give to others, despite what may be most desirable for you. For instance, I don’t really like writing, and I’m pretty mentally checked out after just ending high school, but Josh asked me to write a devotional, so this is something that I’m doing for him– allievating the stress of writing/ finding people to write devotionals every day– and for you– the reader who might get something positive from my thoughts. As another example, I joined a club called the Flock my sophomore year because all of my friends were doing it. It was a newly-formed group to help special education kids at our school feel more socially accepted with others. In all honesty, I joined because I didn’t want to seem like a jerk for not joining. I went to the meetings so I wouldn’t get kicked out of the group. But as I got to actually know the students, I discovered that they were so, so precious. I became an officer of the club not to improve my college application, but because I wanted to do anything and all that I could to make the group better for the kids. I joined their gym class and helped them change clothes, which was something I was reluctant to experience at first, because it was the best way to show love to them. When they have someone who will stop and help them tie their shoes, who walks at their pace and listens to how their day was, and who tells them that they’re such a great friend, their self-worth shoots up tremendously, and that is something incredibly valuable. Showing love to each and every one of the special needs students went beyond just one occassion or method, but took a lot of patience and intentional prayer. But it went beyond the students feeling good about themselves– they built lasting relationships and social skills, and the student body around us saw how much love we gave to the kids and how much love we got in return. The Flock grew from about 15 to 115 students (excluding the special education ones) over 2 years, and students (and even teachers and administrators) outside of the group have seen a bridge built, and it is no longer “uncool” to approach the kids. That’s not to say that you’ll always get recognition for the good things you do; there has been no formal recognition of the club or administrative acknowledgement of the group’s growth whatsoever. Anyways, to sum up, I encourage all of you to reflect upon the ways that you can perform “deeds” in your life. Remember that this doesn’t come from the logic that deeds must be present if you have faith, but the logic of wanting to do good because of your faith. Your faith isn’t something that you concocted on your own but rather was a gift from God, and so it goes with deeds. You must ask God for the humility, patience, and intentionality that it requires to spread love. Remember that Jesus gave everything for you, so serving the other people he sacrificed for is the best way to give a glimpse of what He did, and serve Him.