The Proof is in the Pudding
Faith without action is like support without substance—it sounds good, but it doesn’t help anyone. Faith and action are meant to walk hand in hand.
“I support our troops.”
Have you ever said that to a service member or veteran? Maybe you haven’t, but chances are you’ve heard someone else say it. I have heard it plenty of times. And when I do, I find myself asking a simple question:
“How?”
I don’t ask to challenge, criticize, or be confrontational - I am genuinely curious. What does support look like to them? Is it a donation? A prayer? Volunteering? Advocacy? Without action, that phrase risks becoming nothing more than polite lip service.
How do you support our them? What does that look like in my everyday life? In your everyday life? Because if there’s no answer… if there’s no action behind the words… then “I support our troops” becomes just that—words. A nice sentiment, sure. But without follow-through, it’s just noise. Lip service.
That got me thinking—not just about veterans, but about something deeper. This type of question doesn’t just apply to how we support our troops or veterans. It’s a lifestyle - a mirror we can hold up to ourselves. How often do we, especially those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ, do the same thing in our faith? We say we believe. We say we love God. We say we care about people. But… how?
In the Bible, the book of James paints a vivid picture of a believer who hears the Word but never lives it out: “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like…” James 1:23–25
Faith without action is like support without substance—it sounds good, but it doesn’t help anyone. Faith and action are meant to walk hand in hand.
Understanding and good works are bound together by the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation.
Faith and action are meant to move together. One fuels the other. Worship isn’t just something we attend on Sunday mornings—it’s a lifestyle. A response. A verb. We don’t go to worship; we gather to worship together, and then we carry that posture into the world throughout the week. When we walk out of the sanctuary, our calling doesn’t end. It begins.
We’re still called to notice the poor. To sit with the broken. To feed the hungry. To care for the orphan. To walk alongside the veteran. To love the forgotten.
So, let me ask you:
What does support look like to you- on the giving or receiving side?
Who has God placed in your life that needs more than words—someone who needs a real, tangible expression of love, care, or presence?
What’s one tangible thing you can do—today—to show support, love, or care for someone in need?
Words are powerful. But words backed by action?
That’s where real impact begins.