by Geoffrey Schmitt

Created on: December 06, 2009

The term used to apply mostly to Roman Catholics. People would ask or people would say, I am a practicing Catholic. Or Are you a practicing Catholic. They meant, do you do the things Catholics do? Do you go to Mass regularly and to confession before hand? Do you say the Rosary and pray the Hail Mary? Do you eat fish on Friday and attend Parochial School? For some reason we weren't practicing Episcopalians. You weren't practicing Methodist. For sure people weren't practicing Pentecostals. Of course there was also the joke. When are they going to stop practicing and do it for real?

The question leads us directly towards what people mean today when they use the term Practical Christians. Now it implies someone who takes Jesus seriously and tries to live, in practical terms as he taught. We might wonder how practical do you want to be? St. Francis had been a wealthy young man with a prosperous future ahead. He became so practical he gave all his wealth to the poor, and took vows of poverty and chastity. It doesn't sound like a practical prospect for every Christian. It is rather a very impractical way to follow Christ.

Where is the practical balance between the two extremes? On the one hand we have giving up all worldly possessions and trusting God for each day as a homeless beggar serving other poor people. On the other hand we have going through the motions of religious practices that may or may not lead us to a closer relationship to God or a loving relationship to others.

We can start in the middle. No amount of good works and no amount of religious observance will fulfill what God desires of us. We can't earn our way into heaven or the heart of God. Good works won't do it. Acts of obedience and worship won't do it either.

Christianity it is said is not meant to be a religion. It is a relationship between God, the believer, and at least one or two other people. Christians are called to belong to a community of faith and to serve the world in the name of Christ. Jesus has given a mandate to care for the sick and poor and to visit prisoners. The Bible calls us to acts of justice and mercy. The truth is, much of this is extremely impractical. It gets messy. It is hard to know what we should and should not do.

Often sincere Christians will pray, Lord, help us have pure motives. Frankly when that prayer is answered a miracle has occurred. We cannot wait for pure motives. Martin Luther admonished his followers to sin bravely, yet more bravely believe. I had a seminary professor who wisely admonished his ethics class saying, Most people will do the right thing for the wrong reason, so let them.

If you want to be a practical Christian it is best to start with the virtue of humility, remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions and just try to be one beggar showing another where there is bread.

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