19.09 | Faith Does
Titus 1
‘Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness’
Titus 1:1
Stupid is as stupid does.
I recently re-watched the 90s movie Forrest Gump. In case you’ve not seen it, the movie is named after the main character, who lives an extraordinary life despite his unusually low IQ. In a world that continually calls him ‘stupid,’ his mother tells him, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.’ In other words, she is saying, it is not your IQ that measures your intelligence, but your actions. As the movie goes on, Forrest becomes an American football sensation, a war hero, an elite table tennis player, a multi-millionaire from running a successful shrimping business, a famous long-distance runner, a husband and a father. As he tells his story to various listeners at a bus stop, they either think him a liar, or are awed by sitting next to a man with such credentials.
Paul’s letter today goes to Titus, in Crete. We’ve no record of Paul’s time there, but we know that he left his coworker Titus on the island to oversee the young network of house churches. And, similarly to his writing to Timothy, Titus is needing to deal with a church that is rejecting the truths of Jesus in favour of warped ideas. His role is to keep them strong in the unchanging truths of Jesus’ message and Way.
It is a letter about truth. Truth unchanging. Truth that doesn’t shift with passing ideologies of the age. Truth that is rooted in ancient things and in future things. Truth that doesn’t require the superficial zing of novelty to be valued by the wise.
And yet, this idea of truth is, for Paul, inseparable from the idea of action. Of doing. If stupid is as stupid does, then truth is as truth does and faith is as faith does. You can see what you think from how you live. You can see what you believe from what you do. To almost quote Walt Disney; if you believe it, you will do it.
Their knowledge of the truth…accords with godliness.
This is foundational for Paul. It is why, when he writes about leadership, he begins not with what they say but with what they do. He begins with how they parent their children, and how they love their wives. He begins with their choices around alcohol and anger, hospitality and their habits. It isn’t until the end of this paragraph that he speaks about the actual content that they teach. Because what they do demonstrates what they believe. The two are deeply entwined. Belief is as belief does.
This should disturb us, living in the cultural moment we inhabit. Because knowing without doing is a characteristic of our age. It is a characteristic of knowing exercise is good for you, while we sit around watching too much TV. It is characteristic of knowing a date night would do your marriage good, but letting it slip out of the diary every week. It is characteristic of knowing that the house plants need water, and yet never quite getting round to watering them.
And this problem has deeply infected the church. We have such access to knowledge. We have such study tools. We have such conferences and libraries and online resources. And yet, our obedience can be so … meagre. Paul’s words about these false teachers in Crete feels unsettlingly familiar:
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.
They deny Him by their works.
Our works can affirm or deny our words.
Our works can affirm or deny what we profess to know.
Take heart. Where we need conviction, receive it, but receive it as an invitation to the higher way. For a life as a Christian theorist is devoid of adventure. It is devoid of life.
Some knowledge cannot truly be known unless enacted. Some truths mean very little until they are lived. Faith remains conceptual until it requires a risky decision. And love is a sentimental ideal until it becomes a matter of hands and hearts, tears and laughter, open tables and stopping for the one.
Were our stories to be told at a bus stop, our faith would truly be measured not by what we have claimed or thought about or read. But it will be measured by what we did.
For faith is as faith does.
Reflect:
Think about a situation in your life right now.
How might a truth about God, or belief in this truth, lead you to acting differently?
Pray:
Father,
Sometimes,
I find that my life
Looks very similar
To those who do not know you.
I worry about the same things,
And hold the same prejudices;
I feel the same fears,
And make the same choices.
And yet, Father,
I would have things differently.
And so, Father,
I ask something,
And I offer something.
I ask of you courage
And clarity;
I ask you for compassion
And strength;
I ask of you power
And purity—
That what I do be with you and be like you.
And I offer you
My ready yes:
To do;
To say;
To serve;
To stop;
To give;
To feed;
To risk;
To create:
That believing
May grow in tandem with
Doing—
That you be known,
And Jesus be honoured.
In His Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
1 Chronicles 8-10 | Psalm 109:21-31