By Jenna Walmer

“Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 

– 1 Corinthians 4:18-20

It has been said, “mean what you say and say what you do.” We have most likely heard something likethis phrase in our childhood. The question is, do we actually follow through with its meaning?  Do our actions match our speech and vice versa? Sometimes, I catch myself contradicting my actions and my speech, and I consciously fix it. But other times when I reflect on conversations, I realize how I could have changed what I said to mirror my true beliefs and actions. I see this in many of my peers as they are “shooting the breeze.” It happens to all of us; we overhear conversations when someone says one thing, and they turn around and say another. It is really annoying, is it not?  We all fall victim to it, and we all probably do it.  However, we are called to be truthful in our actions and speech.

Once we can overcome “shooting the breeze”, we can move into the next phase of life. Once we mature past this stage of insecurity, we discover who we truly are and what we believe. In this stage of life, we are asked to show our faith. God asks us to display our love for Him not only through our words but through our actions. In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul tells the people of Corinth that showing faith does not come through just our speech. During that era, many people would just talk a lot about their faith and what to do to be faithful to God. Does that sound familiar in today’s epoch too? However, we are told to show our faith through our actions as well.

In the Church of the Brethren, this is where our heavily beloved service aspect comes into play. Through service opportunities, we can show our love for humanity by helping one another. Also, during these work projects, we may have the opportunity to discuss differing opinions, giving us the opportunity to show our faith through speech and action. We can also illustrate our faith by sending letters to our leaders about current events that hit close to home. Other opportunities include peace runs and other events related to our peace heritage, helping at a homeless shelter, and any opportunity that allows you to act upon your individual faith-based beliefs.

Personally, the biggest concept that bothers me in the world is violence, so naturally I love peace. Maybe it’s because I’m Brethren, maybe because I’m called, only God knows. Anyways, the past two years for International Day of Peace, September 21st, has fallen on a weekend (last year it was a Saturday; this year it was a Sunday). Both years, my mom has happened to be in charge of desserts for marching band that weekend. So, I asked her last year to make cookies with peace signs on them and I made sure everyone in band knew it was International Day of Peace, whether they were Pro-Peace or Pro-War (many people in my band are looking to go into ROTC post high school; there are few people I know of who are peace lovers like myself). It was pretty funny that her turn for desserts fell on September 20th this year; so, for the second year in a row the marching band had cookies with a peace sign emblazoned on them. I guess that is my roundabout way of promoting peace in my small group of friends.

Recently, Dunker Punks has asked for your support in sending letters to officials about the kidnapping of the Nigerian girls. Whether it is doing something small like making cookies or sending a bunch of letters to officials about an incident that really makes you tick, we are all a part of this revolution and are called to make a difference in this world. Through our actions AND our speech, let us show our faith by starting something creative, unique, and personal today.

Jenna Walmer is from Lancaster County and is currently in 12th grade. In school, she loves to research historical events. If she were to live in a specific time period, she would want to be a hippie and live in the 60s or 70s. Her favorite past times are swimming and playing her trombone. If you want to know more about her random life, follow her on twitter: @jaymarie2100

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