Doing and Being

Conforming to the image of Christ is counter-cultural. It requires intentionality and hard work.

When we just become Christians, we tend to focus on the external evidence of faith such as attending services, fellowship and getting involved in Christian services. Activities are important avenues for growth but deficient by itself to ground us in our faith.

In Christianity, the ‘being’ should precede and decide the ‘doing’. This is because spirituality is an inside-out experience. However, focusing on the ‘being’ does not exclude the ‘doing’.

For example, we connect with others because we are beings of love. Love finds expressions in relationships, and we join church gatherings because we seek to build loving interdependent bonds with God’s family. Thus, being a loving person dictates our doing a fellowship function.

The dilemma comes when my doing and being does not match up. What if I am not a loving person? Do I just not do anything loving so as not to be hypocritical? That is where the ‘doing’ comes along as a discipline. The ‘doing’ of loving activities presents us with opportunities to develop love as our character trait. It gives us the outward stimuli to work on something we want internalized in us.

As we mature spiritually, we will see a gradual integration of our ‘being’ and ‘doing’. We are no longer threatened by the doing nor intimidated by our lack of being.

Spiritual transformation and growth is a lifelong process but “the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (I Thess 5:24)