Showing Not Telling

When we show our faith instead of telling about it, we might be more effective.

Last week I spent three days subbing in an elementary school art class. The assignment for each child was to create a pumpkin, leaf, or turkey design for the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast. I spent the first few minutes of each class, reading the directions and giving all of the details.

Each child could pick the size of paper they wanted, then draw out a design in pencil, trace in Sharpie, color, and then cut out. Sounds simple, right? By the third day, with six classes each day, I could almost recite the directions without reading them.

The third day, however, presented a new challenge. I had three, yes three, students, each in a different class, who didn’t speak English. They spoke Bulgarian, Chinese and Spanish.

Each child sat and listened to the directions and smiled and nodded. But, when they came up to my desk, to choose their paper, they had absolutely no idea what to do. Those seemingly simple directions, might as well have been a physics lesson.

How could I communicate words like trace and Sharpie with them? I tried explaining a few times and then I had a light bulb moment. I actually showed them what they were supposed to do. I asked them to point to a design and then I asked them to point to the size of paper they wanted.

Next, I walked back to the table with them and picked up a pencil and showed them what to do. While each child worked, I went and got a Sharpie and showed them that they were to trace it. Then I picked up crayons, markers and colored pencils, indicating that they could choose which medium they wanted to color with.

My demonstration paid off. The first two students did a great job with their art.

Then the student who spoke Spanish came in. I speak a little Spanish; a little being the operative word here, I decided I would speak to her instead of show her. She laughed and shook her head at my rusty attempts at her native language. I ended up showing her too and got the same results as the other kids.

I chuckled to myself the rest of the day. Communicating can be hard. Communicating with people who don’t speak your language, can feel close to impossible at times.

I think that’s a big challenge for the Church in the times we live in. We can talk about the Gospel all day long. We can quote scripture and preach it from the pulpit. We can use words like grace, love and mercy when we describe Jesus to others.

But, to those who are lost and suffering, we are speaking a different language. There are many people who have never witnessed true Christian love, many people who have never been extended grace or mercy. When life has been nothing, but hard and harsh, those words are just words. They mean nothing.

Perhaps to bridge the gap, we need to show grace, love and mercy to those who need it the most. We can extend kindnesses, throw open our church doors and welcome in the lost, but also try to meet them at their eye level, right where they are. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us?

I think the key in sharing our faith is showing not telling. I was grateful for the lesson. It may be one we all need to hear.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂