Being or Doing?

Tom Barnard

 

“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites

 when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do.”

1 Peter 1:17 NLT

 

In an interview with Paul Bradshaw, pastor/writer Rick Warren said, “God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do. That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.”

 

Pardon me? “God is more interested in what I am than in what I do?” Can those two thoughts be separated, as in “more of this and less of that?” I don’t think so. That would be like my saying, “It’s more important that I love my wife than it is to treat her with respect.” That may work where you live, but it won’t work where I live. If I say to my wife, “I love you, honey,” but never transfer that attitude into loving actions, she might respond by saying, “Fine. I love you too, dear, but you can fix your own dinner from now on!” Or worse. What we are is very important. And what we do is also very important. They cannot be separated. The Apostle John clarified the relationship of “being” and “doing” in his first letter to the Church. He said (1:6), “So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness.” And he didn’t stop there. In the next chapter (2:4-6), he wrote, “If someone says, ‘I belong to God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth …Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.” Godliness involves both being and doing. And confessing comes somewhere in there as well.

 

“Heavenly Father, I wish that my actions could always mirror my attitudes. I wish that in every case I could act with the same honesty and reliability as my testimony has said. I want to live so close to you that in every life situation I can be counted on to be true to myself and true to my Lord. I invite you to correct me when I fail to measure up to your standard for me. And please continue to be patient with me as I learn to practice what I preach. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”