Talk is cheap. Actually, it’s not. It is incredibly expensive. How many lives have been hurt because someone believed what another told them only to find actions contrary to those words? In fact, so many of the other rules are made difficult because “walking the talk” is so hard.
Your actions speak so loudly, I cannot hear a word you are saying. Bet someone has already popped into your head as you read the last sentence. Here is the sad part, I bet it was not you. As Jesus told the Pharisee, “You worry about the speck in your neighbor’s eye but cannot see the beam in your own eye.” Ouch!
All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, all of us have done things that disappoint others. The question is not about perfection, it’s about attitude.
What you sow you reap. What kind of life do you want to reap? We all want love and respect. Do our actions sow love and respect? How about trust and honesty? Do you sow trust of others? Do you expect your suppliers or customers to not cut corners and live up to their contracts? Do you trust but verify or verify but trust? You reap what you sow.
Does this approach guarantee you will not get burned or disappointed? Sadly, no. Sowing does not guarantee that every seed yields fruit. Yet, life has taught me that when I sowed one place and got burned, I always reaped somewhere else that I never expected.
And finally, taking the hard road vs. the easy road has made sleeping so much better. I know when my actions didn’t reflect the high road, and it always nagged at my conscience. And that kind of moral conviction does not go away easily.
So here is what I did. Where I knew my actions spoke loudly in the wrong way, I decided to go apologize. I offered to make an old friend financially whole and apologized for some hurtful words to another. I cannot undo the past, but each day is a new day to start walking and talking in a way that would make my Lord happy.