Show and Tell

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2:17-18

Do you remember having “Show and Tell” time in kindergarten? I do! When it was my turn to bring in something to share, it was a big deal to me. Not just any old item would do. It had to be something special. We weren’t normally allowed to bring our toys to school, but if it was for “Show and Tell,” then that was different. You could tell your classmates about a special toy or object any day of the week, but bringing it to class so they could actually see it and touch it and pass it around -- that was what made “Show and Tell” significant.

When Jesus was on earth, He modeled this “Show and Tell” idea in His teaching. He did not just tell His disciples how they should think, believe, and act. He showed them through His own example. When His disciples needed to learn to be humble servants to each other, Jesus washed their feet. Can you imagine? The Lord of the universe took a towel, knelt down with a basin, took their filthy feet in His hands, and made them clean. He showed them what it looked like for the first to be last. John 13: 14-17 says:

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus didn’t dive into a 30 minute sermon with three alliterative and parallel points. Now, there are definitely other times when Jesus taught through a sermon or lecture format, but here he chose a different method. He showed them first, then He briefly explained what He had done and why. And they did not forget. This is just one example, but Jesus did this all day, every day with His disciples.  And when Jesus did lecture or preach, it still always matched what they saw Him doing.

When my students (or children at home) need a lesson to correct their behavior, though, I often launch into a lecture. I want to tell them what they should do. But do I show them? If I expect students to wait patiently for their turn to speak, shouldn’t I be showing them how to do that? If it’s important for them to be quiet in the hallway, should I not strive to be quiet in the hallway myself? If I want them to treat each other with kindness and grace, can they tell what that looks like by watching me?

And what about my coworkers and friends? Do they see that my actions match what I say I believe? I wish I could say that I did this well, but I am definitely a work in progress. We are not going to be perfect, of course, but I want others to see that I live out what I profess to believe.

James says that if we do not show our faith, then it isn’t really faith at all--it’s dead. In other words, we should strive to “Show and Tell” every single day.  Every day, I should live out my faith and act on my faith - not just talk about faith.

Heavenly Father, help us through Your Holy Spirit to be the examples You want us to be in our world. Change our hearts each day to make us more like You, and enable us through Your power to not only hear Your word, but to do Your word.

For small groups:
Share about a time when you learned a powerful lesson by watching someone else’s example.
Share one area where you find it difficult to “practice what you preach” so that others can pray for you specifically.