Faith and words go together like bannock and moose meat. You can’t have one without the other. Many times we treat people that are rich better than the poor because we are trying to get in their good books or we are hoping, we can at some time get a favor from them.
Many times, as followers of Jesus, we like to give encouraging words but we don’t always have some sort of action or solution to go with those words and this is a not a good thing. We might feel good about ourselves because we have said some encouraging words to whomever it is we are talking to that is in need. Yet, just words in themselves are not the result that our Creator God is looking for. If you read James chapter 2, verses 14-26, you can read about this whole topic.
When you are living on the reservation, village or settlement, God wants us to help those that are strangers, as well as our own family members, whether that’s our own church family, biological or extended family.
Not only does James say that our faith is useless if it doesn’t go hand in hand with action, he also points out the fact that we are similar to demons when this happens. This is where James is being very honest with the readers and this is where we have the opportunity to have humility or where we can be filled with pride and get defensive and say that this doesn’t apply to me. When we read challenges like this in the Bible, this is where our walk with God either gets better or worse.
It’s very interesting to see how Abraham and Rahab are used as examples within this story of faith and actions. This is what one elder in the Christian community had to say about Abraham and Rahab. “Abraham was no ordinary individual because not only did he show that he was a man of faith when he offered his son Isaac on the altar but he is also seen as the “father of our faith,” and although Rahab was seen as a prostitute, she was also seen as a woman of faith. In Jewish tradition Rahab was seen as the wife of Joshua and became the ancestor of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and she is included as one of the ancestors of Jesus.” God loves to use all sorts of people.
My Aboriginal brothers and sisters, this is where our walk with God gets challenging and tough. Are we willing to step outside of ourselves and give of ourselves with more than just words? That is the challenge that is before us especially when we are surrounded by people who are filled with greed and the pride.
Here are some life lessons we can learn from this elder and from James who is one of our spiritual ancestors.
• Brothers and Sisters in Need should be helped out with more than just words. We are to help them with the basic needs of life, if it is in our power to do so.
• A Dead Faith is a Useless Faith. If we don’t have actions to go with our words then our walk with God is dead and useless.
• Abraham and Rahab give us great examples to follow and they cover a broad spectrum of good examples. A man who is the father of our faith and a woman who was seen as a prostitute are two examples of God using a man and a woman.
Our God is so good because He wants to use all of us to help each other heal from our wounds and broken hearts. All we have to do is be willing to offer more than just words. When someone is in need, do you actually help them or do you wish them well and send them on their way without any help? That is challenge that is before us all.
We don’t look at the person beside us and point the blame on them. We focus on ourselves and do what we can do to change what God is asking us to change in our own Aboriginal and Indigenous communities across this Nation.
If we as Aboriginal people can treat each other with love that goes beyond good intentions, then we will start to become the people that Creator God intends for us to be. This is something that we can focus on this New Year. All change starts with one person. Step up and be that person. Be a person of faith and action.
Parry Stelter is originally from Alexander First Nation and is founder of Word of Hope Ministries and lives in Edmonton, Alberta. http://www.wordofhopeministries.ca
