“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I sat quietly, as instructed by my father. He was reading from a piece of paper to a man seated across from him. Every three or four sentences, the gentleman would ask my father to read a portion of it again. As a young boy, it felt as though the entire experience lasted forever.
After the man left, I did what I often did as a child – I asked questions. “Dad, why were you reading to that man?” My father paused before answering. “Unfortunately, Joe doesn’t know how to read.” Confused, I responded, “What do you mean? He’s an adult. Don’t all adults read?” “Sorry to say, son, they don’t. Some people were never given the opportunity to learn.”
That experience left a profound impression on me. So much so that a couple of decades later, when we had our first son, we began teaching him to read at a very young age. As parents, we could not have been prouder when both of our boys received certificates in kindergarten for reading one hundred books.
That memory came rushing back recently when I read one of Richard Rohr’s daily meditations. Among his reflections were these words that really struck me: “The tipping point where what we believe becomes what we do.”
As parents, there are many things we believe are important to pass on to our children. The challenge is bringing intentionality to those beliefs so that they move beyond good intentions and become lived realities. Belief alone is not enough. There must be a tipping point – a moment when conviction manifests itself in action.
The truth is that all of us hold onto the hope that what we believe will eventually become what we do. We hope to find sufficient motivation, courage, discipline, or faith to propel us across that threshold where our actions align fully with our convictions.
The gap between belief and action is where most transformation either succeeds or fails. We may believe in the importance of family, generosity, health, prayer, learning, or service. Yet those beliefs only shape our lives when they find expression in our habits and choices.
My father’s interaction with Joe taught me something long before I had the words to articulate it. What we truly believe is revealed not merely by what we profess, but by what we prioritize. Seeing the value of literacy moved us to teach our children to read. A conviction became a commitment. A belief became an action.
Perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves is this: what belief in my life is waiting for its tipping point?…Because transformation begins the moment what we believe becomes what we do.
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only….” – James 1:22
BP