Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
- James 2:15-17

It’s not enough to have the right ideas. It’s not enough to have the right sentiment. Faith without action is dead.

In today’s passage James paints a sorry picture. Words of blessing are spoken but they fall flat. The hungry, cold person remains hungry and cold. James wants us to see the empty words as empty; he wants us to be the sort of people who speak words that lead to warmth and life, words that are backed by action.

What are some ways you can put your faith into action?

• Volunteer at the Take and Eat Food Pantry
• Offer to help your neighbor with yard work
• Join a serving team at Chatham Church
• Clean out your closet and take a load to the PTA Thrift Shop
• Visit a nursing home
• Take a meal to a friend who needs a helping hand
• Mentor a teenager
• Make a monetary donation to a local non-profit
• Go and pray with someone who is sick
• Sign up for a Chatham Serves project (www.chathamserves.org)

Pick one of these pathways to faith in action (or come up with one of your own). As you take action this week, ask yourself: how is this action rooted in my faith?