Works Vs Words

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I believe actions are better than words.

We have at some point used these words to challenge some people to do things. We attend meetings and come up with actions points. Others generate talking points. It all depends on your objective for the meeting. A friend I respect talks of NATO, No Action, Talk Only. We are all good at talking and we can really talk. I have friends who have told me they are paid to talk and so they have to be good at it. Well, that’s acceptable if that’s what your action entails. Unfortunately, we have people who would rather talk than get their hands dirty to bring forth outcomes. We don’t want to take responsibility for any action, because that’s what it’s all about. We would rather talk about it and hope that by some miracle, it works out or someone else gets it done. This applies to the basic things in life like caring for your neighbour, the transformation that we so badly need both in our lives and the lives of those we interact with, or even as basic as smiling to your neighbour, saying hello, crossing the street to hold the hands of a colleague etc. There are higher stake things like meeting the needs of your spouse, being a good parent, and the list is on and on.

We have attended many talks, seminars, workshops, training yet we are still the same. We are still experiencing the same challenges we had before encountering these amazing learning opportunities. We have information overload and certificates to prove that we have what it takes to do something. But the impact of that information on our lives is wanting. I believe information transfer does not necessarily cause transformation. You may be very knowledgeable but if that knowledge is not transmitting to how you live your life, then it's all useless. Let your lifestyle reflect what you know and believe in.

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The good book tells us, faith without works is dead. A lot of great ideas, good projects haven't seen the light of day because of NATO. Procrastination and fear of failure have made some brilliant ideas die naturally. Jesus says, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. It is 'works', not 'words'. Jesus is interested in our good works. Some of the things we do might not be good works. We may be doing them for our own self-interest, to prove someone wrong, to make a point that we can also do something. But in themselves, unless the Father is glorified, then we are just a busybody.

As a follower Jesus, we are called upon to love. Unfortunately, most of us love is just a concept. Something that applies and sometimes it doesn’t. We choose to apply it when it’s convenient and permissible but when it’s not we think it’s debatable. We use complicated words to explain how we should live and serve. Words such as integrity, transparency, discipline, good manners, etc are all over our conversations. All these are great words and we need to advance them. But I dare say that if only we could learn to love as we are called upon, then we would never struggle with these words. They will be irrelevant words if we just chose to make love work.

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If we had leaders who really love us, our nations would be better. Unfortunately, our leaders don’t love us, they don’t care about us. A leader who has love acts in the long-term best interest of those they lead. They would not be corrupt, they will exhibit high levels of stewardship, high levels of accountability, high levels of productivity, high levels of collaboration, they will be leaders who are willing to serve others; who are promoting justice in the community and harmonious living and co-existence. These will be leaders who add value to our lives. Anyone will be more than willing to follow such leaders and trust them with everything. As GiANT Worldwide puts it, these are the Liberators. They fight for the highest possible good of those they lead. They lead organizations everyone wants to work for.

This is love in action not love in words.

If this resonates with you, seek to make love work not just talking about it. Look for a small community of friends who you can learn to do this together with… Being accountable to a few and practising with a few. It’s about building a community of friends to share each other’s journey of making love a reality.  You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create a support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.

Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…

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By Gabriel Achayo