A friend of mine has been having some dating woes lately, constantly coming up short in the relationship department. When I suggested they let God bring someone into their life instead of them constantly searching for it, they responded with a phrase that I first came to know in recovery long ago, that being “Faith without works is dead.”
I truly think this phrase, which actually originates in the Bible from James 2:14-26, is often misinterpreted and used incorrectly as I believe it was in this case. Biblically speaking, the original intention of what James was trying to say in his words was not that one must go out there and take some action to develop their faith. It’s quite the contrary actually. When one’s faith is fully entrusted in God, their works follow accordingly.
James was simply letting his audience know that his work in preaching, helping the poor, the needy, etc, was not to develop his faith, it was because of his faith, and that if he didn’t do any of those things then his faith was dead, like a body in a grave which has no soul. A good example of this would be a person who proclaims they live by faith, but yet they choose to ignore a person begging for food or money when they have substance in their pocket to help. Thus saying they have faith is really just empty words.
That’s why I feel it really doesn’t make much sense to use this phrase in the way it often is such as my friend thinking they need to keep taking actions to look for a mate. Interestingly enough, I too used to incorrectly apply the very same passage to my own former dating woes, as there was a point in time where I went on one date after another with none of them ever working out either. Yet I kept telling myself I needed to keep taking action because “Faith without works was dead”, but that only led to me going on numerous dates that went nowhere, spending hours and hours searching through personal ads, and doing whatever I could to find the person I believe God wanted me to be with. Thankfully, I did eventually discover enough faith in God to trust that God would bring someone in my life when I was ready. So I left one personal ad out there and left the rest up to Him and one day my partner of now over four years stumbled across it.
Nevertheless, the point I’ve been trying to make is that this passage from James is widely used so often now by people who believe it means they need to take an action to show God they have faith. Yet, in all reality, people who are walking on a path with God take action because their faith drives them to do so, not because they are trying to increase their faith itself. In my case, it’s my faith in God that has led me to do my works such as writing daily in this blog about topics like this. But saying I have faith in God and not sharing it with the world really does go in line with what James meant when he said “Faith without works is dead.”
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson