Charity, or love, must be more than words. It is not sufficient to express concern verbally if we have the ability and the resources to go about the problem. It is not sufficient to say,
Joseph A. PipaGo, be full, and be warm.It is not sufficient even to say,I will pray for you,if we are able to do more. Now, to say,I will pray for you,is not inferior, but we must not stop there; love must not stop there. If love has the ability to do more, love must do more. And so James puts this in a context of a Christian brother or sister in need of clothing and food, and being sent away in peace—be warmed, be full—but nothing is done for them. He asks the question then: what use is that? Words are cheap, and if I can speak the words, this is a useless, worthless expression of kindness and mercy.1
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,