Speak to Me Sunday: Foolish Actions

Once Upon a Time, two elderly gentlemen knocked on our door. They were missionaries wanting to spread God’s word and were so polite, lovely really, that I chatted with them a few minutes. We spoke about God and faith and how the two are becoming increasingly pushed aside in culture and society. They had some pamphlets, but I told them I was secure in my faith and to save them for others who might need them more. I thanked them for sharing God with others, we shook hands, and they left.

A few minutes later I had an idea: I should have offered those nice gentlemen some bottled water and snacks for the road! It was a thought that came out of nowhere and so I felt it was divinely inspired. It was not too late!

I gathered the items and looked out the window. The gentlemen were no longer on our street. No problem! I jumped in the car and drove around the neighborhood looking for them.

And I could not find them anywhere.

Huh. I drove back home a little deflated because, after all, hadn’t I been answering a spiritual prompting? Hadn’t I been obedient to the whispers of the Holy Spirit spurring me into action?

Apparently not. Truthfully, I felt a little more than a little foolish. This is not the first time that I believed I was listening to the Holy Spirit, acted on it, only to arrive at a complete and total dead end.

A few days later came the announcement that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. had suspended his presidential bid and was offering his support for “the other side.” “Political suicide,” said some. “A betrayal,” said others. “Foolish,” said many. There were opinions and commentaries aplenty.

But I was not listening to any of it because in the midst of all that hoopla I saw a man who was brave enough to forge a new path and stand by his convictions, all without knowing how this would all play out. Whatever one may think of his decision, it was incredibly courageous to leave a party he was no longer comfortable with and to do so despite the protests of his very influential political family. On the current political stage where there is so much talk without substance, RFK Jr. listened to his inner convictions and gave us something different … whether or not you think him a fool for doing so.

Again, this is not a political commentary, but it did get me thinking: one cannot know if a conviction, or a spiritual prompting, is valid unless it is acted upon. And does it not take faith to take that step when the outcome is unknown? And courage to stand strong against the naysayers?

In the ways of the world, a “yes” to any of the above can be seen as foolish. 

But that can be a good thing.  

Thinking back to that day with the missionaries, I see now that it did not matter my actions did not turn out the way I had imagined they would, that my good intentions fell flat.

Instead, what mattered was I felt a spiritual prompting, and on blind faith I acted.

And sometimes, it is the action (and not the result!) that is the point.