Actions Speak Louder than Words

I've been reading a book for summer reading called The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin. Though this is not an easy read, and I find myself wanting to pull my hair out because it takes me quite some time to comprehend (far more than I'd like to spend), it is jam packed with lots of great teachings. I would recommend it to anyone who plans on being a preacher, missionary, or wants to deepen your understanding of Christianity and the other religions that surround us in our everyday lives.

Baldwin talks about how "Christians must understand their worldview, and they must be prepared to defend their faith--but such knowledge means nothing until it is put into practice" (135). And he tells a great story to go along with this... and it brought me to tears. I really want to share it with you guys.

Now, I know I post inserts from books in here all the time... and I feel bad because I feel like I'm giving everyone so much reading, but it's great stories. Ones that really stick out to me and make me think, "WOW. God is so good."

So, I'm going to share this with you. You don't have to read it, but I recommend it, it's a fantastic story:

"In 1967, Doug Nichols decided to travel to India as a missionary--an odd choice, considering that he did not speak the language. He expected to overcome this hurdle with the written word, using good translations of Christian tracts and the gospel of John. Unfortunately, things went downhill for Doug, and he soon found himself in a sanitarium with tuberculosis. What could be more discouraging? He had come to minister to the people of India, and instead he found himself unwell in an unsanitary place, unable to talk to the doctors, nurses and patients around him. Still worse--because he could not communicate with these people, he could not impress upon them their need for a tract or the gospel of John. NO one was willing to read his only means of sharing the gospel with them.

Doug describes what happened next:

'The first few nights, I would wake up around 2:00 a.m. coughing. One morning as I was going through my coughing spell, I noticed one of the older (and certainly sicker) patients across the aisle trying to get out of bed. He would sit up on the edge of the bed and try to stand, but because of weakness would fall back into bed. I really didn't understand what was happening or what he was trying to do. He finally fell back into bed exhausted. I then heard him begin to cry softly.

The next morning I realized what the man was trying to do. He was simply trying to get up and walk to the bathroom! Because of his sickness and extreme weakness he was not able to do this, and being so ill he simply went to the toilet in his bed.

The next morning the stench in our ward was awful. Most of the other patients yelled insults at the man because of the smell. The nurses were extremely agitated and angry because they had to clean up the mess, and move him roughly from one side to side to take care of the problem. One of the nurses in her anger even slapped him. The man, terribly embarrassed, just curled up into a ball and wept.'

The same scenario replayed the next night: Doug was awakened by a coughing spell around two in the morning, and he noticed the same man trying to weakly stand. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, Doug got up, picked up the smaller man, and carried him to the bathroom. After the man finished, Doug returned him to his bed, went back to his own bed, and went to sleep. But he did not sleep long.

At four in the morning, another patient woke Doug and used hand motions to indicate that he wanted one of Doug's tracts. As the morning went on, more patients, nurses, and doctors indicated they, too, would like one of Doug's tracts or gospel books--until every person in the hospital had one. Within a few days, several of these same people trusted Christ as their Savior!

Obviously, it wasn't true to say that Doug had no way of communicating with these people. He could use the very best means of communication: his actions."

(The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin, pages 133-134)

I read this today, and I cried. It reminded me so much of how my team and I were in China. Multiple time we would say we wish we could speak the language so we could talk with the nannies, learn more about them, and witness to them. We were stuck with the simple hand motions.

But reading this... was encouraging.

Sometimes, it's easier to show someone what you believe, than to tell them about it.

We believe in Love. An everlasting, never changing, God of Love.

We were there to Love on the kids and nannies. That's exactly what we did. Though we could not speak, I know our actions showed through that we were different, because they've told us that. I can only hope that as more teams go back, that God will show more opportunities for the nannies to know what we're all about, how Christ has changed our lives, and hopefully He can change theirs.

That's my prayer.

Just remember, actions speak louder than words. You can say you believe in one thing, but until you live it out, no one will believe that you are different.

Sometimes, it's easiest to show someone what you believe.