James 2:14-17 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Two age-old issues are implied in this passage. The first involves right thinking vs. right doing. Some emphasize right doctrine where it appears God would have our mind without our back. Others emphasize right doing where it would seem Jesus would have our hands without our head. Are God’s servants asked to choose between believing the truth or acting in alignment with it?

The truth tells us we can not work our way to right standing with God. But to think God intended His people to simply come to right conclusions is dead wrong, or produces “dead faith.” Paul reminds us that head knowledge apart from action produces pride and leaves us bloated. James tells a chronically heady audience that they will miss Christ’s way if they have faith statements on their walls that aren’t lived out.

The second issue, while more subtle, challenges the notion that we are to choose between caring for a person physically or spiritually. James reminds us that Christ asks Christians to care for both body and soul, as Christ does for us.

Heavenly Father, as we walk through life, help us to remember to both meet needs and feed souls. Remind us that in the realm of King Jesus we build His Kingdom by practicing Faith with Feet.

-Micah McElveen