So often we think we can influence someone by what we say. We try to win arguments or sway people to our side with our eloquent, well-thought-out words. Yet most times it will be our actions that speak louder than words.
Never have I seen this to be truer than since my children became teenagers. There is nothing like telling your teen driver the proper way to drive only to have shot back at me, “Well you do that.” I can tell my teens something until I’m blue in the face but if I’m not actually living it out, it is going to mean nothing to them.
But this is true for anyone we interact with. Our actions really do speak louder than our words.
In Luke 5:14-16 we read this important sentence, “Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”
I remember when I first came into a relationship with the Lord and how eagerly I wanted others to embrace the same. I knew they were missing out on something and I wanted them to have what I had found. But my words fell on deaf ears. They didn’t really want to hear it.
However, over a period of time as they began to actually witness the changes in my life, they became more convinced of my changed lifestyle. Does that mean I won everyone to Christ? Not necessarily but there have been some. And it’s been a true testament to the idea that what we do is more powerful than what we say.
Our lives are truly the greatest evidence of what Christ has done. Its not that what we say has no importance, it’s just that when others actually see us living out what we preach that they are influenced to a greater degree.
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