Read and pray: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor. 13:1)
Christian and Faithful Meet Talkative (2)
Faithful – Well, brother, I must trust your words, not only because you assured me that you know him, but also because, as a Christian, you ought to bear true testimony about men; for I cannot suppose you speak these things out of hatred or ill will.
Christian – If I didn’t know him, it would be natural for me to think of him as you did; and if I had heard what I’ve just told you from an enemy of religion, I would surely have considered it all slander, for that’s what one usually hears from the mouths of the wicked when speaking of the good. But everything I’ve told you—and much more I still know—I can prove it beyond doubt. Moreover, good men are ashamed of him: they don’t want him as brother or friend, and merely mentioning his name causes those who know him to raise their brow [eyebrow].
Faithful – Very well. Now I understand the difference between saying and doing, and I will always keep this distinction in mind from now on.
Christian – Indeed, they are as different as the soul and the body: just as the body without the soul is nothing but a corpse, the soul of religion is its practice. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27). Talkative doesn’t understand this; he believes that hearing and speaking make a good Christian; thus, he deceives his own soul.
Hearing is merely the sowing of the word, and speaking isn’t enough to prove there is real fruit in the heart and life. And we must be fully sure that, on Judgment Day, everyone will be judged according to the fruits they have borne (Matt. 25:31–46). They will not be asked: Did you believe? But rather: Did you practice? And accordingly, judgment will be rendered. That’s why the end of the world is compared to the reaping of the harvest (Matt. 13:18–23). And you know very well that the reaper only looks for fruit. I don’t mean to say that anything not born of faith will be accepted there, but rather to show you how little value professions and claims will have on that day—like those of Talkative.
Faithful – That reminds me of the words Moses used to describe clean animals (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14). Those which have cloven hooves and chew the cud; one quality alone isn’t sufficient. The hare chews the cud but is unclean because it doesn’t have cloven hooves. So it is with Talkative: he chews, seeks knowledge, meditates on the word, but he doesn’t have cloven hooves; he doesn’t turn aside from the path of sinners; instead, like the hare, he has the feet of a dog or a bear—therefore, he is unclean.
Christian – I think you’ve given those texts their true evangelical meaning, and I will add another thought. Paul calls great talkers “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1), or elsewhere “lifeless things that make sounds” (1 Corinthians 14:7). Lifeless things—meaning without the true grace of the Gospel—which, therefore, will never have a place in the kingdom of heaven among the children of life, even if, when they speak, their voice sounds like that of angels.
Faithful – That’s why I liked his company so much at first, and now I already find it tiresome. How can we get rid of him?
Christian – Follow my advice, and if you do as I say, he too will tire of walking beside you—unless God touches his heart and converts him.
Faithful – What should I do?
Christian – Listen: draw near to him and speak seriously about the power of religion¹. When he agrees with your words—which he surely will—ask him plainly whether this is what he practices in his heart, in his home, and in his life.
Then Faithful, drawing again near to Talkative, asked him: —So, how are things now?
Talkative – I’m doing well; though I thought we would have talked more.
Faithful – Let’s talk now. And since you’ve left me the choice of topic, I suggest this: How does God’s saving grace manifest itself, and when does it dwell in a man’s heart?
Talkative – You mean we’ll be speaking about the power of spiritual things. That’s an excellent topic, and I’m ready to begin right away.
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When the grace of God is in the heart, it causes a great outcry against sin; 2) …
Faithful – A bit slower. Let’s consider each point per se [individually]. It seems to me you speak more accurately when you say that it manifests by inclining the soul to hate sin.
Talkative – So? What difference is there between crying out against sin and hating it?
Faithful – A great deal. One can cry out against sin for the sake of decency and yet not hate it. I’ve heard many people cry out against sin—even from the pulpit—yet tolerate it easily in their hearts, their homes, and their lives. Potiphar’s wife cried out loudly, with all her strength, as if she were very chaste (Genesis 39:15), yet she was the one who tempted the sin and would have gladly committed it. Some people’s cries against sin are like those of a mother scolding her child, whom she soon kisses and caresses again.
Talkative – It seems you’re trying to trap me in my own words?
Faithful – No. I only wish to set things in their proper place. Now tell me what is the second point by which you prove the existence of the work of grace in the heart.
Talkative – A great knowledge of the gospel mysteries.
Faithful – You should put that in the first place, but whether in the first or second, it is always false, because we may easily obtain much gospel knowledge and yet not have the work of grace in our souls. Even more, a man may possess all knowledge and still be nothing, and therefore not a child of God (1 Corinthians 13:2).
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¹ It is important to keep in mind that the term “religion” used in this book refers to genuine Christian living, not to a formal system of personal or collective faith such as Catholicism or Protestantism, which are institutionalized religions. Such religion has no power, for anyone can decide to join it or not without necessarily experiencing a change of life. In the case of true Christian living, this is not possible, because being a Christian involves transformation, which can only be found in those who are part of the Body of Christ and are in Christ.
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Hymn – “For Light”
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