James’ adamant cry that “faith without works is dead” has always bugged me.  When I heard talks on faith that emphasized works, I couldn’t feel the peace that I felt when the Holy Ghost testified to me that something was true.

The same irritation occurred when people cleverly claimed that faith is an “action” word, as in a verb, meaning that if we have faith we must be “up and doing.”

The catchiest counsel, one I heard again and again, was the one that insists, “If you want to move a mountain, pick up a shovel.”

I understand why James taught “faith without works is dead.”  He didn’t want people lounging in their living rooms with their feet up on the coffee table claiming they had faith when a brother was “destitute of daily food.”  I get it, that faith is more than just a bunch of words, but it is also more than a bunch of actions.

I have long been concerned that a focus on works leaves something out.  I have seen too many people work really hard, but without faith.  I have watched them rush to participate in hurricane clean up.  They showed up when it was their turn to clean the church.  They did their home teaching and visiting teaching (that’s what we called it in the olden days).  They fulfilled their callings.  From all appearances, they were persons of faith.  However, many of these persons ceased to “practice their faith” and no are longer following the covenant path.

What was missing with all this focus on acting, doing and shoveling?  If our faith is in Jesus Christ, I wondered, shouldn’t Jesus Christ be part of this equation?  It shouldn’t matter how hard we work unless we:

  1. do the work that Christ wants us to do
  2. in the manner he wants us to do it

We can work until we are perspiring and exhausted, but hard work becomes part of faith only when we are doing the work of The Lord.

Work for Christ

First, let’s consider what Christ wants us to do.  Christ told us what type of works he wants us to do: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do.”  (3 Nephi 27:21).  Working with faith means the work we do is the work Christ wants us to do.

We can work at a lot of things.  We can work to make a lot of money.  We can work so we can lift lot of weight.  We can work to have the most followers on Instagram.  However, work is just work unless it is centered in Christ.  Work becomes a part of faith only when we are working for what Christ desires, in the way he desires.

When we are working to do what Christ wants, we are being obedient.  Hard work alone does not constitute faith.  Obedience constitutes faith.  The type of work we do should always be done in accordance with what Christ has invited us to do.

Faith without Obedience is Dead

Obedience means we don’t pick and choose the works we will do.  Christ’s gospel is not a buffet where we can decide to do a lot of service (works) but refuse to pay our tithing.  It’s not a smorgasbord where we can choose to drive a bunch of kids to girls’ camp (works) but fail to take the sacrament on Sunday.  Obedience doesn’t mean that we show up to teach a lesson on Sunday (works) but mistreat family members when we get home.  Faith in Christ means we will work to do everything he teaches.   Indeed, faith is an action word, but we don’t get to pick and choose when we will act and when we won’t, or which commandments we will follow and which ones we will ignore.  True faith means all our actions will be congruent with what the Savior teaches.

Sometimes we work hard in order to compensate for the things we are not doing that we know we should do.  In other words, we think that our works will save us.  The person who is focused on works might think, “At least I am giving rides to church, and taking meals to the infirm, I shouldn’t have to forgive the person who has offended me.”  They think, “My good works will cover up my sins.”  This attitude indicates faith in oneself, but not faith in Christ.  Faith in Christ means we are obedient to all his commandments, not just the ones that are less difficult to keep.

Obedience as the Desire of our Heart

Nothing is more painful to me than watching someone do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.  I cringe when I see people working hard but hating every minute of it.  It makes me sad to see them making sacrifices and resenting the sacrifices they are making.

Once I was working in the kitchen to help out a friend with her daughter’s wedding reception.  The woman who was working at my side knew a lot about catering, and she also knew just as surely that she didn’t want to be there helping.  She complained the whole time we were working, wondering why the mother of the bride didn’t hire professional caterers.  She talked about what an imposition it was to be there, and how she had so many other things she needed to do.  I’m sure that if the mother of the bride knew how this woman felt she would have dismissed her in an instant.  It’s tragic to see somebody making real sacrifices, without an ounce of joy.

In contrast, I’ve been inspired by those who do the works, who obey the commandments, but do so because it is the desire of their heart.

Late one night I left a temple-recommend interview with the stake president.  I asked him if he was exhausted after a long day at his office and a long evening at the stake center.  His reply motivated me, “Not at all.  Working with the saints invigorates me.  It doesn’t feel like work.”

This stake president had faith that what he was doing was what Christ wanted him to do.  And he was doing it with joy.  He was about the work of saving souls, and that is invigorating.  Working with the desire to bring souls to Christ makes hard work joyful.

As mission leaders, Bret and I didn’t want our missionaries to work hard just to “check the box.”  Working hard when it’s not the desire of your heart is merely pretending.  If we were in the theatre putting on a play, and an aspiring missionary were cast in the role of the lead, we would say he was “acting.”  He doesn’t have to believe he is the character he has been cast to play.  He can merely “act the part.”  It is possible for a missionary to “act the part” without faith in Christ but then he is merely “acting,” as in performing.   This type of acting lasts only as long as the mission, and once he’s home the performance is over and he stops acting like a missionary, or even an “active” member of the church.

The “action word” part of faith must be done with pure intent.  We act, we work, we serve because we truly believe that obedience to Christ saves souls.

I was cleaning the chapel one Saturday, and as I brushed crushed goldfish off the pews and rescued a half-drunk can of Pepsi off the floor, I reflected on the attitude of my inspiring stake president.  I hoped the work I was doing at the present moment would bring people to Christ.  I expected that the missionaries would bring investigators to our meeting the next day and I didn’t want an unkempt chapel to distract them from the spirit of the meeting.  I focused on the investigators the missionaries had recently brought and pictured them sitting in the pews I was cleaning and imagined them attending to the speakers and growing their testimonies.  My work didn’t feel like work.  It felt like fellowshipping.

I wonder if James would have said, “Faith without obedience is dead,” if those who work hard without coming unto Christ would re-direct their efforts.

If we’re going to work, let’s not waste our works.   It doesn’t matter how well we “act,” or how much dirt we move unless we are obedient to the will of The Lord and that obedience is joyful.  This is an idea I can dig my shovel into.