Thinking and doing

There is a big difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.

We think about witnessing - but are we sharing our faith?

We think about ministering in the church - but do we step out and actually participate?

We think about reaching out to our neighbor and do something nice for them - but do we take the time to do so?

We think about praying (and know it is the right thing to do) but we don't pray.

There is a big difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.

And here's what I know:  Many times we are content and self-congratulatory over just thinking about what we should be doing without actually doing it.

Let me explain.

The Comedian Louis CK has a routine in which he jokes about having the impulse to give up his first class airline seat to a soldier.

Louis CK says, "[Service men and women] always fly coach. I've never seen a soldier in first class in my life … And every time that I see a soldier on a plane I always think, You know what? I should give him my seat. It would be the right thing to do, it would be easy to do, and it would mean a lot to him … I never have, let me make that clear. I've never done it once … And here's the worst part: I was actually proud of myself for having thought of this. I am such a sweet man. That is so nice of me, to think of doing that and then totally never do it."

Isn't that so "human" of us?

Yet in June of 2014 - someone did just that.  Oscar nominated actress Amy Adams actually acted on that thought.

Boarding a flight Friday from Detroit to Los Angeles where she was shooting a new movie, Adams noticed an American soldier being seated in coach. She decided to do something that she's always just thought about doing.

Jemele Hill, a reporter for ESPN and a fellow first class passenger, witnessed Adams quietly asking the airline crew permission to switch seats with the soldier, whom she didn't know.

Adams moved back to coach, and the surprised soldier, who didn't know who his benefactor was, moved up to first class. Hill immediately got the word out on Twitter, and after their arrival in L.A. Adams told reporters, "I didn't do it for attention for myself. I did it for attention for the troops."

What a great example of walking the walk versus talking the talk.

If I remember right the phrase is not, "just think it," but "just do it."

Just a thought for a Tuesday.