The Heart of the Matter: When Faith and Actions Don’t Align
Imagine this Scenario
Your doctor orders some routine lab work. Before getting your blood drawn, you chat with the phlebotomist, who mentions he’s been working at the lab for 10 years. You feel at ease, assuming he’s experienced. But when it’s time to draw your blood, it becomes painfully clear—he has no idea what he’s doing.
How could someone work as a phlebotomist for 10 years without knowing how to draw blood? Isn’t that the essence of the job?!?
This sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? Yet we see a similar issue within Christianity. Many people have been in the faith for years, and there’s little to no evidence of a heart transformation. Their character often stands in sharp contrast to the character of Christ, leaving us to wonder:
How can this be?
The Inconsistency Between Faith and Actions
It’s not just that some Christians fail to act like Christians—sometimes their behavior is worse than that of non-believers (1st Timothy 5:8).
If we are called to reflect Christ, how can someone claim to know Him while behaving in ways that directly oppose His teachings? For instance, how can a Christian justify stinginess or heartlessness? Or, how can a Christian be heartless, stingy, unforgiving, abusive, and unloving toward their spouse or family? Even more troubling, how can Christians—especially leaders—manipulate and twist the holy Scriptures to exploit their church members, compelling them to give, not out of love or faith, but to enrich their own pockets?
A Heart Issue at Its Core
Scripture makes this clear:
- Those who know God will love others (1 John 4:8).
- They will not continue in habitual sin (1 John 3:9; 1 John 5:18; Colossians 3:9-10).
- They will care for the vulnerable and defend the needy (Proverbs 22:19).
- They will strive to imitate God in their lives (Ephesians 5:1).
Therefore, the disconnect between faith and actions isn’t just about behavior—it reveals a deeper issue: a heart that hasn’t been transformed. The Bible teaches that “by their fruits, you will know them” (Matthew 7:16). In other words, the evidence of a person’s relationship with God is reflected in their character and actions. That means that if someone consistently lacks the fruits of the Spirit, it’s valid to question whether they truly have the Spirit of God—or even know Him at all—because the ultimate result of salvation is a regenerated and transformed heart—a heart and life that reflect Christ. When that transformation is missing, it’s a sign that something is deeply wrong.
The good news is that God offers us the chance to recalibrate. If there’s a gap between our faith and actions, we must pause, reflect, and ask: Am I truly surrendered to God? Is my heart aligned with His will? By addressing the root of the issue and turning back to Him, we can experience the transformation that comes from a genuine relationship with Christ—a transformation that produces fruit, reflects His character, and brings glory to His name.
