Prayer vs Action

While driving to work I decided to listen to the radio. It’s something I do almost every morning and normally it’s just music or the hosts making random comments about what’s trending/popular today or what they’ve seen on the news. Occasionally you get a personal update on their family life or a little story. Even Christian based radio stations follow the same style. This was a little different, though. Maybe it’s something they do every day and I just didn’t notice because my mind is on family, work, kids, or one of a million different things…but this; it hit me like a brick.

The radio station had a recorded segment where a random preacher came on to talk about the Bible and Christianity. He started his segment by talking about how people go through hardships. We all suffer. We all struggle in some way. I don’t remember word-for-word what the guy said but his final comments were what stood out to me, “We need to make a change. Things won’t start changing until we start praying.”.

This comment was a bit of a shock to me. I know that I should have expected it considering most Christians have this attitude but still; it was something that stuck with me all day. How could a self-declared Christian and preacher of the Bible say that we need to pray when he was just talking about people going hungry? I understand that there’s power in prayer but at what point do we stand up and DO something?

Have you ever heard the song “Do Something” by Mathew West? If you haven’t you should listen to it. (Click here to listen to the song on YouTube). Our views as Christians perfectly support what is said in that song. We’re always willing to pray but how often are we willing to actually do something? Jesus told us to feed those that are hungry, clothe those that are naked, visit those in prison, etc.  He didn’t say “Pray for people in need.”. We show love by our actions. So why has it become so easy to do nothing and so hard to act? Even I’m guilty of this. Sure, I do things; but not enough. When I saw someone that I could genuinely help that might not be able to find help on their own I got scared.

The day after I heard the above comment on the radio I was shopping in Wal-Mart with my kids. At check-out there were two ladies in front of us: a younger lady (mid 20’s maybe) and an older lady (mid 40’s maybe). The younger lady was closest to me but had her back to me. It looked like one of their items had fallen off of the conveyor belt, so I picked it up and tried to get the lady’s attention. She couldn’t hear me, I thought, because my kids were screaming and there was a lot of noise around us so I tapped her on the shoulder. Her immediate reaction was to turn around and jump back. The look on her face was pure terror. It instantly became clear to me that she was blind.

The cashier spoke to me and took the item for her. I quickly apologized and got back to my kids. Once the items had been rung up the cashier tried helping the young lady pay for the items. She couldn’t get the credit card to work properly so the older lady came over. As she was walking by the blind lady she pushed her aside and said “Move!”.

No one said anything; including myself. We all just watched. I was too busy trying to justify the older lady’s behavior. “I don’t know how they normally interact.”, “That’s something I see all the time.”, “This isn’t abuse or neglect. She’s just a jerk.” The list was endless. Fortunately, I had the sense to tell my better half (my wife) what I had seen. She’s a much better person and Christian than I will ever be. Her immediate response was, “We need to do something.” She talked me into calling and reporting what had happened. However, instead of that young lady receiving immediate help I can only hope and pray that she got help or that her situation isn’t as bad as I envision in my mind.

It hurt disappointing my wife. But realizing what kind of example I set for my children was even worse. They’re young and will learn from me. What I taught them in that store was not something I want them to remember. I want them to be willing to help others without fear. I should have said or done something in the store. My children would’ve seen how a true Christian should act. Fortunately, they see that from my wife.

I didn’t fully understand the disappointment my wife felt until I had a realization for myself later that night. I have no problem helping people when there’s no risk or when it’s easy and convenient. Handing out food, blankets, clothes… there’s no risk. But when you have to actually confront someone!!! Why did that scare me so much?

There is no justification for how I failed to act but we can’t continue to remain that way as Christians. Prayer isn’t a bad thing, but we act as if it’s all we should do. We need to pray AND act. Things won’t start changing just because we start praying. Christians have been praying for thousands of years. In 2016 there were 323.1 million US citizens and 73.7% of those people claimed to be Christian. That’s 238 million Christians. Of course, a lot of those are probably children. However, could you imagine the impact it would have on people if we started helping in addition to praying? Why can’t we answer prayer through our own actions instead of waiting for God to force someone else’s hand?

Almost 17% of Americans go hungry each year. The Christian community could easily feed them all. For each hungry person in this country there are 4 to 5 Christians that can help. Churches can also provide food, but they typically require proof of income and don’t accommodate based on family size. You get what you get - not what you need. The homeless statistics are even more saddening. Less than 0.2% of the American people are homeless, but I haven’t found a church yet that’s open 24 hours; let alone one that would let someone spend the night without it being a state of emergency for the area. When you start talking about abuse it’s even more frightening. We have no idea what true abuse statistics are because there are countless people that don’t reach out because resources are so limited. If you can’t get help, then you’re likely to have your situation become even more dangerous.

Christians (the true church) should be there for people. Whether they’re hungry, homeless, being abused, etc. What are we afraid of? Are we afraid to bring it up to our preachers, pastors, and priests? Are we afraid that we might be asked to help beyond the typical Sunday/Wednesday services? Are we afraid that someone’s life might be made temporarily uncomfortable? Whatever that fear, we need to get past it and do what we know as Christians is the right thing to do.

We need to start DOING. We need to start asking ourselves “Am I a goat or am I a sheep?”