A rant about St. Francis (and Steve)...

A legend about St. Francis has been stalking my ministry and I just can’t keep silent anymore!! Everyone’s favorite St. Francis quote (which btw is actually a quote from some guy named Steve from 1993) is “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words.” There is Gospel truth in this statement: they will know that we are disciples by how we love one another—Jesus taught us this 1,960 years before Steve. The lesson is found in John 13:

^“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Jesus and Steve are both correct; the most powerful expressions of love are selfless actions and LOVE is the most effective form of preaching. How fitting that Jesus washes his disciples’ feet at the beginning of John 13 before telling them to love one another? He’s awesome.

But notice that Jesus doesn’t say “Love one another as I have just loved you at the beginning of this chapter.” He says that they should love one another as He has loved them ALL ALONG. So to get a sense of this you have to read the whole Gospel… or get a fancy version that has Jesus’ words printed in red. You’ll notice that he NEVER STOPS TALKING!! Jesus has two primary ways of loving people: He (1) does selfless things, and He (2) speaks Truth to people.

Jesus heals people, He feeds people, He raises the dead, He embraces people, and He collects people at the margins of society…. but He also preaches, teaches, testifies, witnesses, prays out loud, speaks truth to power, convicts, rebukes, proclaims, cries out, weeps, calls, questions, answers, and uses words ALL THE TIME.

So what is my problem with the quote? My problem is that it’s an easy cop out… and I use it all of the time.

An atheist can do good works. I know people who believe in nothing and yet still feed the poor, comfort the afflicted, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the imprisoned, and love the rejected. If you ask them why they do this I know they will give passion-filled answers—like a sense of justice, the mutual connectedness of mankind, and moral responsibility—that would inspire you to do good works too.

However, when people see Christians do good works it’s different. When people ask us “Why do you do this?” our answers don’t just inspire them to begin doing good works too… our answers inspire people to CHANGE THEIR WHOLE ENTIRE LIVES!!!

I love people with my actions because God first loved me! Even though I was stuck in my own selfishness and sin the One True God—Creator of the Whole Freaking Universe—loved me more than anything else in Creation and if I didn’t share this love with the people around me I would explode!

I love people with my actions because my God allowed for His arms to be stretched out and for His hands to be nailed to a Cross to rescue me from the destruction of my sin… and daily striving to be just 1/1,000,000,000,000,000 as good to someone else as my God was to me is the only way I know how to say “THANK YOU!”

I love people with my actions because Jesus Christ told me to meet Him in the face of the poor, the hungry, the least, and I do—I do find Him exactly where He said He would be—and I can’t stop looking because I long to see Him more clearly.

I love people because I have been adopted by the Father of Jesus Christ and loving people is the family business—the chief thing that gives us our identity and reminds us day after day that no matter how bad things get, no matter how lonely we feel WE ARE NOT ALONE.

I love people with my actions because I look forward to the promised day when all people will be whole, holy, redeemed, and living according to the Will of my Father in the Kingdom and I take seriously my responsibility to build that Kingdom!

But nobody really knows any of this… because I NEVER TELL THEM. And when I am not telling them I make myself feel better—noble even— by saying some cliché “I’m preaching with my actions today!” version of Steve’s quote. And that’s not what Jesus wants me to do.

Of course you should do good things. After all, faith without works is dead. But works without spoken faith IS NOT PREACHING… it’s just a good deed.

Here, I have re-written Steve's wisdom: “Preach with words and live a lifestyle of habitual goodness so that you don’t sound full of crap.” It’s not catchy… but its so much more effective. And I'm willing to bet that St. Francis would approve!