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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Compassionate Action Speaks Louder Than Words – 11 April 2007
By Mary T. Hoffman

Looking at some of my notes, I found four quotations that seem to complement or reinforce each other. Each of the four speaks of the importance of “doing” rather than merely “talking.” Another way of putting it is: “Talk is cheap.” We have to “Walk the walk and not merely talk the talk.”

Here are the four quotations from my notes:

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often. Mark Twain

Your life may be the only Bible some people read. Author Unknown

They will be hushed by a good deed who laugh at a wise speech. French Proverb

The shortest answer is doing. English Proverb

Those of us who live as vegans know what it’s like to be scrutinized by those who feel convicted by their own “non-veg” lifestyle, and who want to be able to say, “Aha! Leather shoes!” – Or some other such thing. You get the picture.

In the Bible, James says that “a man [or woman] is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” He also says: “…faith without works is useless,” and “…faith without works is dead.” (James 2:14-26)

Reading this Bible passage, it’s easy to imagine how James must have felt about Christians who were caught up in “cheap grace” – very much like many in today’s world.

I’ll summarize by saying this: A truly compassionate lifestyle speaks louder than any words.

See also:
http://www.all-creatures.org/heart/5dec98.html 

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