Actions Speak Louder Than Words

My dad died about 6 months ago. Since then, I occasionally reflect back on some of the things he said that had an impact on me. There were many, but one in particular that served me well in life was, “Actions speak louder than words.”

 

Sometimes as a teenager I would not always get my chores done on time. One time I was supposed to mow the lawn on a Thursday, and for (certainly valid!) reasons that currently escape me, I didn’t get the job done Thursday afternoon.

 

My dad came home for work and didn’t say a thing. I brought the topic up at dinner, positing a (certainly lame!) excuse for not getting my job done. Dad cut me off, saying, “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Just get the job done tomorrow. Actions speak louder than words.”

 

I mowed the lawn Thursday night, right after dinner!

 

The Psalmist Loves His Lord

Today’s reading is Psalm 116:1-11. The psalmist is proclaiming his love of the Lord because of all God did for him, probably getting him out of a very difficult predicament. The psalmist goes beyond that however, proclaiming, “For you my Lord have delivered my soul from death.”

 

We have a lot in common with the psalmist. Jesus died on the cross so that we can be delivered from death. That is a lot to be thankful for. It should, like the psalmist, motivate us to love our Lord.

 

How can we demonstrate our love of the Lord? Words alone are sometimes insufficient. There are things, however, that we can do.

 

First, we can worship our Lord, thinking of him on a daily basis. We can also let Christ’s love shine through us by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Not just another a Bible verse, we should help and serve our neighbor when they are in need.

 

Most importantly we show our love by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to our friends, our neighbors and even to those we do not know.

 

Yes, sometimes words alone are insufficient. We need to demonstrate our love by our actions.

 

As my dad taught me, actions speak louder than words!