Talk is Cheap

We have often encounter two types of students, at the opposite ends of a spectrum.  There are those who can solve a problem, write a program, design a system, implement a design and in general carry out a project; but cannot write a convincing proposal, explain  the design, and make an intelligent presentation about the project after it is done.  These are what we call the doers.  Then there are those who can make a convincing proposal but cannot or are not willing to put in the hard work to implement it, or after some team member has implemented a project, stand up to present the project as if they are the ones who have carried it out.  These are what we call the talkers.  It is a perfect student who is both a talker and a doer.  But often you can one or the other, not both in the same person.  While the talker is also valuable, it is the doer who is more critical, who actually get things done.  

In service-learning it is even more important.  Sometime students, even professors, seem to think they have made an important contribution if they study and present an issue, e.g., poverty in a developing country, such as Laos.  But ask the people there, and you will know that they think is more valuable, that you can talk intelligently about the lack of electricity in Rwanda, or they you can install solar panels so that hundreds of household can have electricity for lighting for studying and fellowship at night, charging mobile phones, and listening to news and spiritual music on the radio.  By talking about an issue, we enrich ourselves, but what good does talk do for the people that we are supposed to serve - if we cannot actually do something useful for them?

Gradually I realise that Christians have known this for a long time.  At least since Jesus’ time.  It was Jesus who said, two thousand years ago that not everyone who calls Jesus ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; it is those who carry out God’s commandments.  In today’s environment, that means it is not necessarily those who attend Sunday worship.  But those who truly care about and love each other.  Not just those in our family, but also the orphans, the widows, the sick, the poor, the oppressed. And love them both in body and spirit.  

In the Book of James it also says that faith is not real if it does not have the accompanying deeds.  You can hardly be more explicit than that.  

There is so much that is common between service-learning and faith.  This is just one of them.