“ACTION FIRST, WORD LATER”
“Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.” (John 7:17, New Living Translation, italics mine)
My wife is taking our dog to puppy lessons. Our dog doesn’t really need any lessons to be a puppy; she is already pretty good at that. Being a good puppy is another matter, at least at times.
My wife came home from the first lesson with all kinds of good ideas, which I was promptly told about. I’m not sure, but I suspect that my sweetheart is hoping that some of the suggestions may be transferrable to another species—particularly to a homo sapiens with whom my wife has to deal on a regular basis. I think that her suspicion is correct.
For example, one of the principles that the puppy training manual handout holds out is as follows: “Teaching your dog a reliable Sit is very important. . . .”
The instructions continue with,
“Don’t say ‘Sit’ yet. Your dog needs to master the action first. If you say the word before your dog understands the action, he’ll become immune to the word. When your dog sits every time you use the hand motion, you can add the word.”
Action first is a principle that I am still trying to master. I want to have a word for something I am supposed to be doing, before I do anything. Frequently, I get so interested in the word that I forget all about the action. The Book of James in the New Testament has a great deal to say to people like me.
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:19-25 New Living Translation)
Someone has defined a committee as “a group of people talking about what they should be doing.” That is pretty good as a definition. It is even better as a wry comment. If you didn’t get the wry flavor on a first reading, try rereading the definition, with the emphasis on the word “should”!
I am also reminded of the old quip, “When all is said and done, there’s a lot more said than done.” Yes indeed!
Perhaps I should actually do something today. I’m not sure if posting a blog counts or not.
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