Words and Actions

I read about a farmer’s son who decided to get married. When he told his father, his father said, “That’s good, son, but you need to understand that in most marriages the wife is the boss.” The boy didn’t believe that so his father decided to prove it to him. He told his son, “Catch a dozen chickens, tie their legs together, and put them into the wagon. Hitch up two horses to the wagon and drive into town. Stop at every house you come to, and where you find the man is the boss, give them a horse. Then, wherever you find the woman is the boss, give them a chicken. You will give away all the chickens and return with two horses.”

The boy accepted the challenge and started for town. He stopped at every house and asked who was boss. After stopping at ten houses, he had given away ten chickens and no horses. He came to the eleventh house and saw an old couple sitting together in the swing. The boy called to them and asked, “Who is the boss here?” The man said, “I am.” Turning to the wife, the boy said, “Is he the boss?” The woman replied, “Yes, he’s the boss.”

Upon hearing that, the boy asked them to come down to the road. Then he told the man to pick out one of the horses. The old man and his wife looked the two horses over carefully, and the man said, “I think the black horse is the better of the two. I want the black one.”

As the boy was unhooking the black horse, the woman said, “Charlie, I think the red one is a lot better horse than the black one.” “No,” the man said, “I want the black one.” “Charlie,” she yelled, “I said the red one.” “Oh, alright,” the man said, “I’ll take the red one.” “No, you won’t,” the boy said, “You’ll take a chicken.”

The disparity between what we say is the truth and what the truth really is often is great. In the Old Testament there is the story of Saul who went into battle with the Amalekites. One of Samuel’s instructions was that Saul was to take no spoil in battle. Saul agreed to that.

When Saul returned from a victorious battle against the Amalekites, Samuel went out to meet him. Saul greeted Samuel by saying, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” The sound of the sheep and cattle almost drowned out Saul’s profession of being obedient to the Lord’s instructions. Here was a striking contradiction, and Samuel chose to believe the sounds of the illicit livestock rather than the professions of obedience on the part of Saul.

In the Christian life it has always been easier to talk a good game than to play a good game. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). What do your words and your actions say?