Rachel Whisman

Growing up, my dad had a phrase that he repeated often: “Knowing and doing are two different things.” For instance, as a little girl, my dad would tell me, “Rachel, I need you to fold the clothes,” to which I would sometimes respond with “I know” instead of “yes, sir”. Then he would make the remark, “Rachel, knowing and doing are two different things. You say you know, but are you doing it?” This week, I noticed this pattern continue when a friend was trying to help me with a skill in pickleball, and with another friend, who was trying to instruct me on how to change my brake light bulb. Like a natural reflex, they gave direction, and “I know” spilled out as if it were armor protecting my pride. Yet, the thought, “No, you don’t,” came just as quickly to interject and jolt me with conviction.

We can claim we know a lot of things, but do we follow through with the action? Jesus reminds us of “knowing and doing “ as He wraps up His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:26, He states, “And everyone who hears these words and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” He does not just ask them to believe in his words, but also calls them to respond in action and obedience. To not do both is to be foolish. For me to say, “I know,” or “I hear you,” but not be able to give proof in following through, is half obedience and half obedience is disobedience. The opposite is true, too. If I am just going day after day, trying to muscle my way through and focus on the accomplishments of the tasks, and just believing in what I say to myself rather than in Christ, I too am also foolish. 

The glue that combines these two and allows them to work is His Spirit in us. We need Him to enlighten us by hearing the truth in order to do the work selflessly. We need him to show us the good works that He has prepared for us and trust in His name and his accomplishments to do them. “Knowing and doing” are two different things, but they work side by side to accomplish the greater task of making His glory be displayed and not our own. When one is missing, there is an imbalance and a foundation that is built on sinking sand. 

“True saving Christianity is not the mere believing a certain set of opinions and holding a certain set of notions. Its essence is knowing, trusting, and loving a certain Person who dies for us- even Christ the Lord.” -J.C.Ryle